Hope For Love
by Bayou Bebe
Summary: When a young girl contacts Hunter and Blake they are confronted with a past that haunts them. Join them on the road to redemption, recovery and love as they face their inner demons and find the courage to let go, learn, live and love. Warnings inside.
1. Introduction

Hello and welcome to Hope for Love.

I wanted to thank you all for your interest in the story but I need to say a few things before you make your way to the actual story.

I had a dream about this situation one night after watching a bit of Ninja Storm before I went to bed many years ago. I wasn't very verbose at the time and my desire to share the story was stifled by my poor ability to get it out. It was abandoned for a few years and it's finally back up. I've been thinking about it a lot recently and now I'm writing it again.

This time however, its finally up to the quality it deserves… or at least I hope it is.

But now for the Warnings. This story is going to be dealing with serious abuse of my character Cheyenne Bradley. I want everyone to read the Author's Notes before the chapters and the summery hints for the following chapters. I, of course, would love for everyone to read the entire story, but not at the expense of what you might be able to handle.

I hope everyone enjoys the story,

Makia


	2. Hope For Love

Disclaimer: I don't own anything/anybody you recognize. I am the creator of Cheyenne Bradley alone. Any likeness to events or people is entirely unintended and I do not mean to offend. Please read the warnings which are posted at the beginning of each chapter. If any of the warnings sounds as if they might disturb you please take caution in reading.

A/N: Ok, here is the new improved and much more longwinded version of Hope for Love chapter one. Chapter two is about a third of the way written and will be up soon. PLEASE NOTE! The following chapter is fairly tame, but does mention death. The upcoming chapters however will be much more graphic and will contain DEEPLY DISTURBING TOPICS. This includes but is not limited to: Physical, Mental, Emotional and Sexual abuse, Incest, Severe beatings/torture and rape. There will be slight mentions of a male/male slash relationship, though it isn't extremely graphic. If anyone has a problem with these topics please be advised they will be showing up quite soon.

HOPE FOR LOVE  
BY MAKIA DURRON

Hunter Bradley was not happy. He was, in fact, brooding on his bed dividing his attention between glaring at his traitorous clock and staring in disgust at the nice black pants and red button up shirt that his mother had laid out for him to wear. It wasn't even the right color red for goodness sake! He heard the gentle sounds of his door being opened and ignored it as he shoved his hair out of his eyes. He felt the bed dip next to him and looked over to see Blake looking uncomfortable in his own dress clothes. Sighing in defeat, Hunter quickly changed then hugged Blake and dragged him from his bedroom wordlessly. He was the older brother so he had to give the good example to Blake, even though he was only older by a year and eight months.

After today though, Blake would be a big brother too. He smiled softly at Blake's curious look and nudged him with the arm that was around Blake's waist. Blake was only seven and Hunter had just turned nine last week. They were both adopted when they were toddlers so they had grown up together and barely remembered a time before they were together. But not too long ago their Mom and Dad had approached them and told them that they were going to be adopting a little girl, meaning that Blake and Hunter were going to have a _sister._

Hunter wasn't sure if he liked this idea, girls were soft, and didn't like sports and were whiney. But Blake was excited to not be the baby anymore. Their new sister was supposed to show up at two, which was only 15 minutes away.

Hunter felt a strong hand fall to his shoulder and squeeze. Looking up he smiled halfheartedly at his Dad and nodded before guiding Blake into the living room to sit on the couch. They sat there for a minute, Hunter barely listening as his father explained that their new sister, Cheyenne, was four and had lost her parents in a car accident. She liked playing catch and gardening, apparently, something which Hunter found promising despite his misgivings.

Suddenly, the door bell rang, causing them both to jump and his mom to laugh, "Don't look so scared, its like you're about to go fight the entire Thunder academy by yourselves!" She teased as his Dad got up to answer the door with his Mom. Hunter heard the gentle, chirpy voice of the social worker and his parents greeting Cheyenne. Suddenly curious he was about to go to the foyer to see her but was thwarted when they came in to sit down in the living room with the boys. Blake slid of the couch and came over to greet Cheyenne.

Hunter resisted for a moment, completely taken in with Cheyenne's adorable chubby face and black curls, her skin was creamy soft looking, and the color of milk, she was suddenly giggling and hugging Blake, her voice like bells as she laughed and then she looked over to Hunter expectantly. Suddenly deciding that he didn't mind having a sister he smiled at her and came over to say hello as well.

Cheyenne smiled at the taller blonde boy that came to say hello. She liked him and the dark haired boy a lot, she could tell she would like playing with them. Reaching forward to hug Blake then Hunter when he came closer she smiled again and gave them a sloppy kiss on the cheek which made them cringe before taking their hands and drawing them over to the backpack that lay down next to the coworker's feet. "Color wif me?" She asked in her high soft voice, those three words enough to capture their souls as her eternal slaves for life.

Hunter nodded, ignoring the grin that Blake sent him. He was sure that it was because he had declared coloring for babies earlier in the week, but decided that he was only doing to make his new sister happy, so it didn't matter. Settling down on the carpet next to Cheyenne, he took the proffered Disney coloring book and immediately looked over to her crayons to find a color to start with, surprised with the small 20 pack she pulled out. Sighing he got up and disappeared, causing Cheyenne to look up in shock and then sadness as he left her side.

Hunter returned shortly, a huge tin box in hand as he sat back next to Cheyenne. He gently hugged the little girl who smiled brightly up at him, any sadness suddenly gone at his reappearance. He opened the tin and put it in the middle of where they were sitting, grinning at her squeal of delight from the numerous crayons housed within. Hunter gently kissed her black curls, smiling as her bright blue eyes danced up at him, He began to color before feeling someone looking at him. He looked up and immediately began smiling happily when he noticed that his Mom was watching their bonding with a triumphant look on her face.

~*~*~

It just wasn't fair.

Blake was holding Cheyenne in his arms, trying to comfort the whimpering girl, she had been terribly frightened from the explosions that rocked above them. He glanced over at Hunter and bit his lip as he noticed his elder brother's enraged expression. "Hunter," he whispered, snapping Hunter out of his mental torture. Hunter quickly moved over and hugged Blake, cuddling Cheyenne between them. "Shh, Shya its ok, Mommy and Daddy will be back in a minute," he soothed as he exchanged a worried look with his younger brother.

They had been enjoying a wonderful dinner with their parents, having spent the day playing in the park with Cheyenne and putting on a puppet show for her. Suddenly a loud crash sounded in the living room, glass flying in through the doorway and their father had immediately rushed to see what had happened. The rest was a blur, he heard his father shouting for Hunter to take him and Cheyenne to the bunker, his Mother had rushed out to help his father and he heard dull thuds and cries as Hunter picked Cheyenne up and grabbed his arm, rushing him down to the basement and further into the secret bunker they used for emergencies.

The fight had lasted for a long time, and every minute made him cling to Hunter tighter. He was trying desperately not to cry, he was a boy and he didn't want to scare Cheyenne. She was softly crying for Momma and he wasn't far away from joining her. Cheyenne had been with them for two months and had never experienced anything like this before.

Their parents were ninjas, teachers at the Thunder Ninja Academy. They had been practicing with the junior classes recently and were enthralled, hoping to one day be ninjas as well. He shifted, Cheyenne had become dead weight in his arms as she fell into an uneasy sleep. Hunter moved to sit next to Blake and carefully pulled him in his lap, making the warmth return more fully in the cool cellar. The sounds had died off, hopefully their parents would come get them soon.

They Waited. For hours it seemed there was not a single sound coming from the upstairs, then finally the door opened. Blinking in the bright light from the Basement bulb hanging almost directly overhead they looked up, expecting to see their parents but were instead confronted with Sensei Omino, the headmaster of the Thunder Academy. "Come boys, Lets get you out of there," he said gently as he beckoned them forward.

Blake's heart sank.

"Where are our parents?" Hunter asked softly, lifting Cheyenne from my arms and carefully climbing the stairs with her head cradled on his shoulder.

Sensei looked at them, the tears more visible as they fell from his eyes. "I'm afraid, my boys, they didn't make it." He whispered softly as he hugged Hunter, taking Cheyenne from him and then hugged Blake.

"Come, you're going to come live with me," he said gently, reminding them of what their parents had said earlier in the year during an explanation of what would happen if they died too.

Hunter suddenly seemed wary, "Cheyenne is coming too right?" He asked, as he spotted the social worker who had dropped Cheyenne off months ago.

Sensei Omino winced, trying hard to come up with an explanation. "Boys, your parents hadn't named anyone a guardian for Cheyenne in their will, according to Mrs. Clarke here; she has to go back into state custody. We're going to fight to get her, but I don't know if there is anything we can do." He said softly as he handed the sleeping girl to the woman waiting.

"NO!" Hunter yelled, reaching immediately for Cheyenne, trying to pull the toddler out of the woman's arms. "You can't take our sister!" He screamed out, rage flashing through his eyes as a large fork of lightning crashed outside in the front lawn.

"Hunter! Calm yourself, we're going to go see her tomorrow, the court hearing will be in the morning and we can argue our case then but until then you must control your emotions," Sensei rebuked sternly, causing Hunter's shoulders to slump in obedience. Immediately turning to hug Blake he let his tears escape into his brother's soft black hair as he tried to assure him, like a big brother should.

~*~*~

The next day Hunter didn't even scowl at the dress clothes that Sensei Omino '_Uncle Tron'_ he reminded himself sternly, had picked out for him and Blake to wear. He focused instead on what he would say if given the chance, how he would explain why he needed Cheyenne to stay with Him, Blake and Sensei.

Hunter was still apprehensive, despite the long talk he'd had with Sensei Omino, that he was doing everything in his power to bring Cheyenne home, he never seemed as assured as he usually was of his abilities while saying it. Hunter clipped on his crimson tie, shrugging his shoulders into his light coat and carefully picking up his wallet. His dad had helped him start an odd job business the previous summer so he had the opportunity to earn money beyond the five dollar a week allowance he received. Unlike Blake who would spend his allowance on games and toys, he had saved almost all of it, spending only 20 dollars on books, from both sources. He had it secured on the inside pocket of the motocross wallet and slipped it into his coat's outside pocket. He then picked up a soft leather pouch from beneath his pillow, carefully checking the drawstrings on it before moving it to the inside zippered pocket on his jacket.

The pouch was a comforting weight against his side, his mom, '_don't cry, you don't have time!' _ he reminded himself firmly, had shown him the location of his parent's emergency fund earlier in the year. It was there for him to give to Sensei Omino and contained over 5,000 dollars to be used only if something happened to them or there was a disaster. He was pretty sure this qualified, but he was hesitant to give it to his Sensei. He had considered his options the night before and decided that if worst came to worst, if they refused Sensei as guardian of Cheyenne then he was going to take her and Blake and run.

He had it all planned out, there was a hotel in the middle of town that had rooms for 20 dollars a night, he could get a room for them and do jobs for people like he'd been doing, he'd have to be careful and they'd have a lot to sacrifice but they'd be together, and that was all that mattered to him.

He sighed at his own dismal thoughts, sending a prayer up that they wouldn't have to resort to that and quickly made his way to Blake's room. He knocked and entered after he received only silence in reply. After they had taken Cheyenne last night Blake had refused to speak to anyone. He looked around the neat room and found Blake sitting in the corner, staring stonily out of the window. "Blake?" he whispered as he slowly approached his brother.

Blake turned and Hunter winced at the pain and anger simmering in his little brother's eyes. "Bro, we're gonna be ok," he said gently as he sank to his knees beside the smaller boy. "I promise, no matter what they say today, we're going to be together," he vowed as he leaned in and quickly told Blake his plans.

Pulling back, he was relieved to see the hope slowly returning to Blake's eyes. Blake was instantly cautioned not to reveal the plan to anyone, especially Uncle Tron.

They began packing a backpack, first with clothes and then coloring books, the tin of crayons and a coat for Cheyenne. Finishing off the load with a few books and a picture of their parents they were zipping it up when Uncle Tron walked in.

"Boys it is time for us to depart," He said gently, taking each of them into a hug and guiding them from the room.

"Wait," Blake said quickly before darting in and back out, a small bag in hand, "I can't forget the snacks for Shya." He said gently as he put them in the top of the backpack and walked with them to the entrance of the Academy.

~*~*~

They arrived at the courthouse twenty minutes before their hearing, and Hunter immediately began to look for Cheyenne. His heart was racing by the time he finally found her, bawling her eyes out in the corner of the hallway. A large man was holding her arms, speaking sternly to her and when she wouldn't respond, shaking her firmly, his voice rising. Hunter quickly moved forward, intent on stopping him. A well dressed woman was sitting close by and glaring at the little girl in disgust. "Oh just shut up already you little brat!" she snapped finally glaring at the toddler and getting up to walk further away from her.

Hunter snarled at her as he passed, determined to get her away from such awful people. Picking her up and cradling her to his chest he glared at them both. "Don't you ever speak to her like that! She doesn't deserve your anger!" He said tightly as he cuddled her close.

"Hun'er, Bwake!" She cooed happily, snuggling her face into Hunter's shoulder and smiling widely as Blake quickly approached and kissed her on the cheek.

Blake smiled his hand gently soothing the tears away from Cheyenne's face, completely unaware of the Judge who had been watching from a nearby alcove. "Good morning Shya Monkey, is the dinosaur in your tummy hungry yet?" He asked teasingly, bringing a grin to Hunter's face at the memory of how the joke started.

_Cheyenne had been playing with the boys, completely absorbed in their game of guess who when suddenly her stomach growled. She jumped in surprise and looked down at her stomach in curiosity. "Hun'er, Bwake was dat?" She asked softly, her stomach surprising her with another growl._

_Blake grinned at Hunter and winked before turning back to the toddler sitting next to the blonde. "That's your tummy dinosaur, whenever your hungry he roars to let you know its time to eat." He informed teasingly, giggling at her shocked expression._

_She stared down at her tummy again and brought her wide blue eyes up to meet Hunter's "If I eat, the dinosawer be happy?" She asked and grinned in delight as he nodded. _

_Standing up carefully she ran into the other room, calling for their mom, "Momma, Momma! The Dinosawer is hungwy!" She informed, not noticing when her mother laughed and ruffled her brothers' hair before picking her up and carrying her into the kitchen, asking the Dinosaur what it wanted for lunch._

Cheyenne nodded, giggling when Blake produced a package of string cheese, her juice and her fish shaped box with cheddar goldfish inside. "Dank woo," she said primly before taking a sip from the princess cup she now clutched.

Hunter followed Sensei Omino into the Judge's office, laughing as Cheyenne informed them her 'dinosawer' had roared thank you for the food and was taken by complete surprise as the man from before snatched her out of his arms, bringing her to tears again.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Hunter exclaimed angrily, stepping forward to retrieve his sister causing Sensei to put a stifling hand on his shoulder.

Cheyenne continued to cry, struggling to get out of the strange man's arms and back to Hunter. The Judge, who had witnessed the this action and the subsequent refusal by the female lawyer to comfort her and the man's rough handling. Had a considering frown on his face and eventually suggested to the man that they let Cheyenne play with Hunter and Blake while they discussed the case.

The man, whom Hunter learned was Cheyenne's third cousin named Michael, began the dispute by stating that as a blood relative, however distant, he was the only one who should even be considered for custody of Cheyenne.

Uncle Tron, on the other hand, was a calming balance to Michael's protestations and spoke reasonably of how the Bradleys had just adopted Cheyenne, and had meant to change the will later in the week. He further stated that they would have wanted their children to be together.

The lawyer for the cousin, immediately countered that it was important for a family member to raise a child. She then asked Sensei if he was related to either of the Bradleys.

Sensei had responded in the negative but quickly explained that he had grown up next door to Todd and had been there through out his life and later Christine's when they had married, lost loved ones and found out the news of their infertility. He was there for all three adoptions and was counted as an uncle to Blake, Hunter and now Cheyenne. He assured the Judge who seemed to be in their favor, that he had a comfortable life, was independently wealthy and although not married, had a daughter who was 14 and loved Cheyenne, making for a positive female influence in the toddler's life.

The female lawyer cut him off here and began citing laws that worked in Michael's favor, making Hunter's blood boil. He stood up, smiling reassuringly at Blake before stepping forward towards the Judge. "Sir, may I please say something." He asked respectfully, his hands clasped behind his back and his posture erect and confident like he had been taught.

The Judge held a hand up to the lawyer's protests and nodded for Hunter to continue. He considered his words for a moment then nodded once to the Judge, "When my parents adopted me, I was a real mess. I had been abandoned by my mother and grew up on the streets for almost a year before I was found by Child Services, I was bumped around to a couple of homes before the Bradleys found me," he paused the continued, "I was really angry all the time, I had been let down so much I figured they would let me down too, just like all the others. I was always screaming, tried to run away, hit my dad. But then one day Uncle Tron came over to meet me. He found me on the roof and sat with me, didn't yell or tell me to get down but just sat there. He taught me how to meditate, how to use my words instead of my fists. He was always there when I needed encouragement and with his help I really got close to my parents."

Blake watched Hunter admit these things to the Judge and smiled down at the floor, kissing Cheyenne's head and helping her sharpen a crayon she wanted to use. He trusted Hunter to keep them safe.

Hunter took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "I know that my parents messed up with the paperwork, but I really need Cheyenne to stay with us. I promised her, like I promised Blake that I would take care of her. I can't break that promise. I know my Uncle isn't married but he really does care about us, we all love him and I know that we'd be ok with him. I know Mr. Michael is Cheyenne's cousin and I don't think anyone would mind if he came and visited and got to know her, but we just lost our parents, it isn't right to take her brothers away too."

The Judge nodded but turned to listen as the lawyer pointed out that Hunter had been violent in the past and that, no matter how touching his story was, it still didn't excuse the law being ignored.

The Judge sighed and nodded at her words. "I think that in light of the circumstances, perhaps a visitation schedule can be set up for the boys to visit the girl?" He Judge asked, giving Michael a look, to which he nodded reluctantly.

Then I will grant temporary custody to Michael Clarke, with a review in one years time," He ruled, getting them to sign the papers.

Hunter was appalled and immediately gave Blake a look, who packed up the crayons and coloring books. Hunter looked around trying to find a way to get them out when Cheyenne suddenly gave him the perfect opportunity. "I has to go potty, Hun'er." She said loud enough for the adults to hear.

Hunter nodded to her and looked to the Judge. "Sir, is it alright if my brother and I take her?" He asked his face respectful as Blake shouldered the backpack.

The Judge waved them out, to which Mr. Clarke gave an unhappy face.

Hunter took Cheyenne in his arms and let Blake open the door. After getting a few steps away he hastened to a near run and led Blake down the stairs, "Shya, I need you to be real still, we'll get you to a potty in just a minute." He promised as they bolted out the door and quickly made their way to a taxi on the corner. "Sir we need to get to 14th and Lexington." He said respectfully as he pulled his wallet out of his jacket.

The cabbie gave them a curious glance but at seeing the money in Hunter's hand shrugged and drove off.

~*~*~

Two Weeks Later:

Hunter carefully made his way down from the room, paying for the next two days at the discounted rate. He had made a deal with the owner to clean the bathrooms and take the trash out every night in exchange for reducing the rate by half.

The manager, who seemed strangely sympathetic agreed instantly and had made it fifty dollars a week, to Hunters delight. He took out a mostly full can of garbage to dump as he shouldered the empty backpack and made his way down to the nearby market.

The women were used to seeing him every few days for crackers, peanut butter, juice and fruit. They always held his backpack for him and rang him up, easily believing the tale of encouraged independence by his parents to pick up his own after school snacks. He was easily tall enough to pass for an 11 year old and used it to his advantage, claiming they'd just moved in down the street.

There had been no sign of Sensei, Mr. Clarke or the police and after the second week of hiding and playing it low it seemed that the coast was going to remain clear. The hotel room was small and rather drab but it was clean to the best of their combined abilities and seemed safe enough. Cheyenne was beginning to get a little restless, having almost completed the coloring books, but she had understood well enough that they had to stay there until it was safe.

Today he decided to get some brown paper bags, so he could make puppets for Cheyenne when he got home. Smiling at how happy that would make her, he carefully carried the basket to the front and smiled sweetly at the cashier who gave him a piece of candy. Taking the food laden backpack he waved goodbye and made his way down the two blocks towards the hotel.

He was suddenly wary when he felt someone staring. He didn't look around, acting instead like he hadn't a care in the world and carefully ducked into the alleyway near the hotel. Waiting for a while until the bad feeling passed, he cautiously made his way to the entrance and quickly went up the stairs to the room he was sharing with his siblings.

The bad feeling in his gut wouldn't go away.

He had spent the afternoon with Blake meditating and making puppets for the show they put on. He fed Cheyenne her crackers, told her a story based on a picture in one of her coloring books and kissed her goodnight as he tucked her in to the middle of the double bed. He carefully looked out the window and sighed as a cop drove away.

"What's wrong?" He heard behind him, startling him as Blake put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry," he apologized before watching the street again. "I felt someone looking at me earlier, I guess I got spooked," he explained carefully, trying not to show Blake just how worried he was.

Blake nodded to him, giving him a light hug before moving to the bed. "I'm going to go to bed, We need to come up with some school books tomorrow so we don't get behind," he informed Hunter as he curled up protectively around the toddler in the middle of the bed.

Hunter nodded and checked the lock, before turning the light off and joining them. "Good night," He whispered, kissing Cheyenne's cheek and closing his eyes.

A short while later there was a knock at the door. Hunter, startled awake, gave a fearful glance to Blake and carefully moved to look out the peephole. It was the police. He bit his lip and quickly moved back, carefully motioning for Blake to get Cheyenne beneath the bed. He moved towards the closet where their food and clothing was stashed, barely getting the doors closed before their room door was opened and the chain snapped. The two cops immediately searched the room but found the room was empty. The cops were about to leave when one's eyes snapped to the bed. Hunter winced, realizing the covers were unmade and felt a tear escape as the cop muttered that the bed was warm.

He moved to check the bathroom then looked under the bed, shouting in triumph as he found Blake and Cheyenne. "Where's your brother!" He snapped as Blake tried to keep away from him.

Hunter sniffed and opened the door, stepping forward and motioning for Blake and Cheyenne to join him. "What do you want?" He asked bravely, moving to stand in front of his siblings.

The first officer moved forward fast and grabbed him, slapping handcuffs on his slim wrists, "You've been charged, by a Mr. Michael Clarke, with kidnapping charges for his cousin Cheyenne Clarke." He said imperiously, letting his partner recite the Miranda Rights.

"Her name is Cheyenne Bradley, officer." He informed calmly, trying to sooth Blake as he gently told him to get their things.

"Whatever you say kid, now come on." The officer responded tiredly as he dragged them downstairs and in front of Michael Clarke.

"This them sir?" The cop asked as he motioned to Hunter. Michael nodded, sneering at the Bradley brothers as he quickly snatched Cheyenne to him, causing her to burst into tears. "That's them alright," He confirmed as he snarled at the boys. "Say goodbye, you're not ever going to see her again." He threatened as he quickly left and made his way to the car idling on the corner.

"CHEYENNE!" Hunter screamed, quickly breaking away as he ran towards his sister, "No! You can't take her!" He cried before choking as one of the policemen caught him. Sobbing he watched as Clarke took her away, never to see her again.

A/N: OK! So after all of that… oh my god I feel like such a bitch! I really REALLY want to know what you all think. I know that there was like a single sentence talking about this before but I wanted to really give you a story you could love. I need to know your opinions though. The next chapter will be a brief flash from this scene as Hunter has a nightmare of it and he being really cranky with everyone the next day as it's the anniversary of their separation with Cheyenne. It also has a brief look into Wes and Eric moving into the new neighborhood and some introduction to Cheyenne and her situation.

As this is obviously more detailed please be aware that the next few chapters which deal with her situation and subsequent escape are going to be a lot more graphic then you might remember. If anyone wants the original first chapter of which the next three or four chapters will be based on feel free to leave a review with the request and I'll pm it to you. The review button is below PLEASE USE IT! I could definitely use some feedback and ideas from you all.

Also, as you keep reading, think about who you'd like to see her paired with in the future. It will take a while to get there but I think it might bring some closure to her and the story. I'd like to know who you think would be best for her and reasons why. Eric is with Wes and vice a versa so they shouldn't be considered. I think Eric and she will be very close because he can kinda get some of her emotional problems. But I see him more as an uncle or big brother. I'm not adverse to the idea of her and Hunter if people can give me reasons and a possible way for it to come about but I think I'll leave Blake out of the running and keep him cannon with Tori.

Anyway I hope you enjoy, Chapter two should be up sometime later today or tomorrow.


	3. Suspense

WARNINGS: Chapter contains mentions of torture, rape, death, severe guilt and self punishment. Please take caution if any of these topics are sensitive for you.

"Blah" – speaking

'Blah' – thinking

_Blah_ – dream sequence

"_Blah_" singing

_Michael sneered at the Bradley brothers a crying Cheyenne trapped in his arms, he snarled at the boys. "Say your goodbyes, you're not ever going to see her again!" He threatened as he quickly left and made his way to the car. _

"_CHEYENNE!" Hunter screamed, quickly breaking away as he ran towards his sister, "No! You can't take her!" He cried before choking as one of the policemen caught him. Sobbing he watched as Clarke took her away, never to see her again._

_[Flash]_

_Sensei entered the training room, his face tight with sorrow as he watched Hunter straining to control the lightning as he sparred with a third years student. "Hunter," he called, watching with apprehension as the determined blonde came over to him. "I… I'm afraid I have bad news…"_

_Hunter quickly snatched the letter in Sensei's hand away and read it carefully. His eyes snapped up to Omino's in disbelief. "What?" He asked, his voice shaky as tears began to cloud his vision. _

"_NO! You're lying, or they are!" He screamed his hands fisting in anger and grief. He stared up at his Sensei and at seeing the pity in his arms dropped to his knees and screamed, "NO CHEYENNE!" A swarm of lightning bolts hit ground around them as he screamed. On the ground next to him, smoldering from the nearby lightning strikes was a death certificate. _

Hunter woke up, a scream escaping his lips as he shook in shock from the memory. He turned the light on, his eyes stinging from the cold sweat that had broken out around his body. He jumped out of bed, tears beginning to fall as he stared at the calendar on the wall next to his bed. It was March 23, the day that the police had found them. He growled and quickly pulled on a pair of grey sweatpants. Punching the button beside the door panel he stormed through the residential part of ninja ops and made his way towards the training area. He had disregarded the fact that it was not quite four in the morning.

His eyes blazing with barely held emotion, he quickly began to punch at the punching bag in the corner, disregarding tape or gloves as he punished himself and the bag.

Cam woke to loud thumping sound, his eyes drifting with sudden apprehension to the camera monitors next to his bed. The place wasn't breached but he could still hear the odd sound. Squinting at the clock and growling under his breath at the late hour. Getting up he made his way out into command central, shocked to find Hunter punching a bag, muttering under his breath. Moving forward, he was shocked to see blood splatters on the floor around the bag and to hear choked sobs coming from the taller man.

"Hunter, are you alright?" He asked gently, laying a hand on Hunter's shoulder. The second his hand touched him though he had to bolt out of the way to avoid being hit by Hunter's fist. "Hunter!" he snapped, his expression betraying his shock at the other's expression.

The Crimson ranger was bleeding from his knuckles, his fists were turning black and purple from the trauma and his face was enraged for a split second before he recognized Cam.

"Blake!" Cam called out, still wary and even more alarmed as Hunter fell to his knees and began to weep. Blake immediately came rushing out of his room, clad only in a pair of tight blue boxers. Taking in the scene Blake swore under his breath and immediately made his way to his brother's side.

"Hunter, ah bro not again," he muttered as he carefully took Hunter's left hand and winced as he saw it. "Cam get the first aid kit," he muttered under his breath as he kissed Hunter's cheek gently and stroked the older boy's back. "Hunter you can't keep doing this to yourself, it was 11 years ago," he said gently as he lifted Hunter and carefully brought him over to sit on a nearby cushion.

"I failed her, Shya, my baby, I failed, I broke my promise," Hunter whispered brokenly before letting his head fall against Blake's shoulder. "I failed her and you Blake! I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough Blake!" He sobbed before turning and burying his head in Blake's neck.

Blake winced at Hunter's words and bit his lip before seeming to steel himself against his brother. "Hunter, Hun we were kids, you were nine years old! You couldn't have saved us if you wanted to! What were you going to do if we weren't caught huh?" He asked carefully bringing Hunter's face up so he could look into the watery blue eyes, "What would you have done when the money ran out and we didn't have any way to pay for board of food? Prostitute yourself? Steal?" He growled under his breath and fisted Hunter's hair.

"Hunter, you did the best you could, but it isn't your fault she got taken away and it isn't your fault she died. She got sick, it happens." He said firmly as he slowly released Hunter's face and took the bandages and antiseptic Cam had lain out. "You have to stop doing this to yourself Hunter. I know it isn't fair, but I need you, we all need you to be strong so we can take Lothor out." He said before kissing Hunter's forehead. "Now it's early, let's get you back to bed, we don't have to train for another four hours." He said quietly as he gently lead his now seemingly comatose brother back towards his room.

Cam stared out over the carnage, trying to wrap his mind around what he'd just seen and heard. He didn't have to wait long for an explanation however as Blake was suddenly by his side with a roll of paper towels and bleach. Cam watched in fascination as Blake scrubbed at the floors and punching bag roughly, his own shoulders shaking as tears fell to the floor which were quickly scrubbed away.

Deciding he'd had enough Cam dropped to his knees beside Blake and drew him up from the cleaning. "Stop, leave it for now." He ordered, his tone booking no argument as he wiped the tears from Blake's face. "Now would you kindly explain what's going on, and why I had to catch your brother sobbing and bleeding all over ops?" He asked his tone less abrasive than normal.

Blake looked at the bag, his eyes going out of focus making Cam sigh. "It was 11 years ago, right before out parents died," Blake started softly, his eyes glued on the bag. "Our parents told us they were adopting again, this time a little girl," he paused and smiled briefly. "Hunter was a lot less enthused than I was, he was already the oldest, and he didn't like girls. He had just turned nine and I was still seven. I was so excited that I wasn't going to be the youngest anymore and slowly he seemed more excited and then the day came," here he paused and smiled widely, shifting where he stood and glancing over at Cam.

"She was brought to the house by her social worker and she walked through that door. I swear Hunter just melted instantly. She was tiny; she looked so breakable like a doll. She had all these black curls and these bright blue eyes, they almost looked scary," he laughed, "She asked us to color with her and Hunter immediately agreed, getting her crayons and just obeying her every whim. It was really adorable how much he doted on her. Her name was Cheyenne."

Cam frowned, he hadn't ever heard of their sister, "What happened?" He asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

Blake's face blanked again. "There was an attack about two months later, our parents stayed to fight off the robbers and they were shot. Ninja powers are so great you know? But they don't stop a bullet. Our parents, they hadn't changed the will and apparently Cheyenne had a many times removed cousin who decided he wanted custody. The Judge, he, you could tell he wanted to let Sensei Omino become her guardian too but there was a law, one that got repelled in 96, that stated a blood relative would get preference over a guardian elect like Sensei."

Blake's face blanked again. "There was an attack about two months later, our parents stayed to fight off the robbers and they were shot. Ninja powers are so great you know? But they don't stop a bullet. Our parents, they hadn't changed the will and apparently Cheyenne had a many times removed cousin who decided he wanted custody. The Judge, he, you could tell he wanted to let Sensei Omino become her guardian too but there was a law, one that got repelled in 96, that stated a blood relative would get preference over a guardian elect like Sensei."

Cam winced, seeing where this might be going.

Blake gave a slight choking sound from trying to fight back the sobs that wished to erupt. "Hunter, he had saved money from his allowance and had gotten our parents emergency fund when he was packing the night our parents died. He managed to get Cheyenne and me out of the courthouse and we stayed hidden, living in a hotel for two weeks before the police found us. He was arrested, actually had to spend four months in juvie, and we never got to see her again. About two years later after numerous appeals and trying to get visitation with Cheyenne we got a letter from the courts that had her death certificate. She'd gotten the flu and apparently had an allergy to the treatment and she died."

"I… I don't know what to say, I'm really sorry about your loss Blake. I guess Hunter blaming himself isn't too surprising. Why haven't we ever heard about her before?" Cam asked as he got more comfortable and gently rubbed Blake's back as tears began to fall from his eyes again.

Blake shook his head, "It's been 11 years but Hunter won't forgive himself for letting Clarke take her away. He's going to be useless today in training and that's not even counting his hands." He said sadly as he stood up. "I don't know about you but I want to go hide under the covers and let the winds be the responsible ones today." He said, a small saddened smile creeping over his face.

Cam smirked and nodded in acknowledgement, "I think that sounds about right, I'm sure Tori will wake us up tomorrow when we aren't here to greet them." He said easily as he made his way back towards their rooms, his arm slung over Blake's shoulder. "Get some rest; I'll talk to my dad in the morning about excusing Hunter." He said gently as he dropped Blake off at his door.

Blake nodded and waved as he disappeared into his room and the door shut behind him. Cam waited in the hall for a few moments, his eyes trained on the brothers' doors before sighing and reentering his room.

~*~*~

Tori yawned and rolled her eyes as she led 'her' boys into ops. They had spent much of the previous day playing a new video game and if she had to withstand another ten minutes of their excited babbling about it she was going to duct-tape their mouths shut and hide the game. She walked through the door, pausing immediately as she scanned the room. Something wasn't right… where were the gruesome twosome and Cam?

Looking around in curiosity she tried to figure out any signs of life, alarmed as she caught sight of the bleach, the bloody towels and first aid kit on the low table. "Cam, Blake, Hunter are you here?" She called out making her way back towards their bedrooms as Shane and Dustin collapsed next to the table.

She reached Hunter's room first, gently knocking and not hearing an answer she opened the door and peeked in, gasping softly at his state. The covers were on the floor, his body twisted and the sheet was torn in his fist. His fists were swollen and bleeding, his face twisted into a snarl as tears made tracks down his cheeks. Quickly making her way to his side she soothed her hands down his face. "Hunter! Hunter, oh Hun wake up it's just a dream." She said insistently, gently shaking him awake.

Hunter's eyes snapped open, rage filling them then poignant grief as he saw the gentle hands were not Cheyenne's but Tori's. "Tori, leave me alone, I'm not training today." He whispered hoarsely, his voice rasping from his screams the night before as he turned away from her.

"But Hunter, what's wrong, can I help? Do you need to talk about it?" She asked her hands gently stroking his back.

"Tori just go away, I have nothing to speak with you about and I would rather you just got the hell out of my room!" He snapped as he rolled, shoving her off the bed and pointing towards the door. "Go!"

Tori stood shakily, her lip between her teeth as she nodded, "I'm here if you change your mind," she whispered as she left the room and made her way to Blake's room. By the time she had gotten his door open she was teary eyed herself, and by the time she had sat next to Blake and touched his shoulder, they had made their own silent tracks down her cheeks. "Blake, Hunny, wake up," she whispered, smiling gently as his eyes fluttered open to meet hers.

"Tori? What's wrong babe?" He asked gently as he wiped her tears away and sat up next to her, missing her blush at catching him shirtless.

"I just, Hunter…" She stopped and sniffed hugging Blake gently, "I went to wake Hunter and he's… his hands are bleeding, he was screaming softly, he was crying it was so horrible!" She gasped before feeling warm strong arms surround her.

"Tor, don't let Hunter get you down today, it's a really bad day for him and me and he takes it really hard. He'll be ok in a few days, you just need to give him time and let him sulk in the other room, just don't get in his way and he'll probably come talk to you soon." He assured gently, pushing himself so his feet hit the ground and hugged her once more before standing. "Is Cam up?" He asked as he pulled on a shirt, missing her stare completely.

"Um… no I was going to wake him up next." She said as she tried to focus on his face and not the perfectly shaped ass… '_Focus Tor…_' she reminded herself mentally. Standing up she leaned over to kiss his cheek softly, "You're alright though?" She checked as she hugged him quickly.

"Yeah Tor, I'm ok, I might be a bit spacey today but I'm ok." He assured again as he pushed her towards the door. "Now go wake Mr. Samurai, I think you're the only one he wouldn't hit and I need to get dressed," he teased, smirking softly at her new blush.

"Right… I should totally go wake Cam…" With that she bolted, missing Blake's small chuckle.

Making her way carefully to Cam's door she was apprehensive to learn what he might do to confuse her like the Bradleys had. Carefully opening the door, she grinned at finding Cam sprawled out over the bed on his stomach, his arm hanging off the bed and his face mashed in his pillow. Sitting down next to the petite man she gently leaned over to hug him and kiss his hair. "Rise and shine sleeping beauty," she teased as she shook his shoulder gently, "Come on Cam, you're always up with the roosters, and you sure picked the wrong day to sleep in."

Cam groaned and shifted so he was lying on his side. "Good Morning to you as well, is everyone else here?" he asked with a scratchy voice as he rubbed his eyes and reached over for his glasses. Tori smirked as he fumbled around, opening the arms of the frames and gently sliding them on his face. "Hunter isn't training today, and I just woke Blake up, but the other two are babbling about some stupid game out in ops." She informed as she handed him his training robes from the chair next to the bed. "Up and at 'em fearless samurai man, you've got to be awake if you want to torture us." She teased as she kissed his cheek and went for the door.

Cam sighed and collapsed back into bed. It was going to be a long day.

~*~*~

Wes smiled as he carried the last two boxes inside of the house, meeting Eric as he made his way out of his bedroom and bumped his shoulder in passing. "You can double check but I think this is the last load." He said easily as he flashed his easy grin and disappeared through the door leading to the kitchen and dining room.

Eric smirked in reply and walked out to double check the moving truck and the cab before locking it up and reentering the new house. Looking around at the scattered boxes of their joint belongings he sighed in annoyance with the disorder and moved with determined gait towards the disassembled bed in his room. He was positioning the bed frame together, ready to thread the first screw when he felt Wes' presence and rolled his eyes, "Collins, quit staring at my ass and go unpack something."

Wes groaned at the thought but reluctantly left, his protestations coming much later as he suddenly realized the crack at the beginning of Eric's order, making him laugh.

A couple of hours later they were smirking at each other over the decimated pizza box, an empty six pack of PBR and the box for the Soul Caliber game they were currently attempting to beat each other's score in.

Wes had finally coaxed Eric into a few rounds of the game, but only after they had finished the beds, unpacked their clothes, bathroom supplies and kitchen. Eric had pointed out, to Wes' disgust, that if they were late for work the next morning because they had spent the night "playing" instead of getting their clothes, toiletries and kitchen together, Wes' dad would be less than pleased. Now though, the night was looking up for the ex rangers as they laughed at another sudden death round and fell into the easy camaraderie of pizza, beer and video games.

~*~*~

It had been an unseasonably warm day today, the sun burned merrily up in the sky, beating down on the inhabitants below without a care, impartially baking everything in the path of its rays. Although it was late March, the heat had still surprised the girl slowly leaning against the chain link side of her cage. It was finally cool enough, now that the sun was beginning to set, to touch. She'd woken up around 11 o'clock with burns streaking her skin from the overheated metal and now they stood in stark relief in blisters along her pale skin. She shivered as a breeze swept by, curling her body further into itself to conserve body heat. She sneezed, wincing as a dog in a nearby cage began barking from the sudden noise. She paused; stilling her body except for the lightest of breaths as her eyes carefully searched the area surrounding her cage, making sure there wasn't danger nearby.

Slowly relaxing after a few moments she shifted in her cage, studiously ignoring the cramping in her stomach and the ache from the broken blisters and cuts on her back. Laying back and mouthing the words of a song her brothers used to sing to her she waited for the next moment.

"_Lay down,  
your sweet and weary head.  
Night is falling.  
You have come to journey's end._

Sleep now, and dream  
of the ones who came before.  
They are calling,  
from across a distant shore."

She sighed, her eyes searching out the dogs in the other cages, shuddering at the corpses in three of the cages, hopeless victims from her cousin's demented mind. In the past 11 years, his depravity had become more pronounced and quite prolific.

At first it wasn't much, an occasional hurtful remark, forgetting meals, a small slap on the hand or spankings, but as the years and her age progressed, the hurtful remarks became abusive rants, the forgotten lunch became outright starvation and the slaps became beatings or worse.

She hadn't left the house since she was six years old, never attending school but having taught herself to read in order to follow recipe directions for making dinner and the basics of math and health from books he presented her when she was young.

She sighed, her eyes drawing up to the stars above and wished fervently for an escape, a way out. She lay there for a few moments studying the pinpricks of light before bolting upright at the familiar unsettling creak of the house's screen door. Carefully moving away from the jagged edge of the furthest corner of the cage she watched in apprehension as one of her Cousin's friends staggered towards the row of chain-link fencing where she and the dogs were located.

Whimpering low in her throat as he stopped in front of the bolted lock on her cage he reached up to the hook hanging from the overhead rafter and unlocked the door, reaching in to fist her hair, his breath rancid on her face as he dragged her close with a low chuckle. "Must be cold out here, let's get you inside and warmed up, whatcha think sugar?" He leered as he tossed the door closed, laughing at the barking dogs and hung the key and lock back on the hook.

Cheyenne turned frightened blue eyes to the ground, her body shaking despite herself as the whimpers became keening moans. "Please, not again, please don't touch me, I don't want this, please… just kill me?" She begged as she did every night even as her heart sank with his laughter and she was dragged closer to the house.

"Oh I don't think so Pet; you aren't worth the bullet it would take."

A/N: Ok so I was corrected earlier today that the Bradley brothers hadn't moved into ops. I know its not in cannon but what I'm going to do is let them rent an apartment after they are reunited with Cheyenne… this can be 1) We're looking for a place and bunking in the meanwhile or 2) We lost our job/couldn't pay rent/ lost the apartment because of property damage from the big ass alien attacks. I do apologize, it will be corrected soon.

I realize that it's kind of choppy here, I tried to get Wes, Eric and Cheyenne all set up for the next chapter which will be infinitely more graphic. I have decided, *due to manipulation of the evil voices in my head* to make Eric and Wes hetero roomies and not partners, thus leaving Eric in the running for Cheyenne's heart which might not even happen. I don't know… its way too amusing when I think of the aneurysm that Hunter will undoubtedly have when he finds out and the whole big brother rant that will follow. *giggles*

That being said I SERIOUSLY need info from you guys. I realize it's a lot different then the single chaptered less than 2000 word summery thing I put up earlier that got all the rave reviews, but I really want/need feedback for this. A lot of it is out of my comfort zone and I don't want to waste time writing a piece of shit that will get me flamed somewhere in a fancritic forum. I'm even happy with IT TOTALLY SUCKS or Oh it rly goods moar please.

Much love and kisses,

Makia


	4. Sorrow

A/N: Ok everyone, I know that I've not updated the others but I've been focusing on getting this chapter out before I go back to the light and fluffy. I want to dedicate this chapter to my reviewers, JuseaPeterson especially for giving me the boost I needed to get through this chapter.

WARNINGS: This Chapter contains severe brutality and rape! If you are at all uncomfortable with this please do not read this chapter. Although it is key to understanding exactly why her behavior is so radical in the following chapters, it is not vital to read it in detail. A summery will be provided at the end of the author's note below for those who cannot read the story.

~*~*~

Cheyenne's whimpers had slowly turned into soft keening moans as Paul dragged her closer to the house. Her hair, which had not been cut in the eleven years that she had moved in with him, was twisted around the stocky man's fist as he used it at a guiding rope, dragging her along with the strands.

She sobbed once as she was thrown into the house, her legs collapsing from their atrophied state and her cuts on her back reopening from the movement, blood seeping from them into the carpet.

There was an outraged shout from further into the dimly lit living room, one that had her rolling to her knees as fast as she could, her head coming tight to her chest and her arms coming up to ward off blows. They didn't help.

A tall dark haired man was charging towards her, his arm raised with a beer bottle grasped firmly in hand. "You little bitch! You stained my carpet!" He roared as he brought the glass bottle down on her arms, cracking it and cutting her sharply on the next swing.

She flinched back from his strikes, her body shaking in fear as she sobbed harder, trying in vain to stop. "Please Daddy, please! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! I'll clean it up I promise!" She begged, screaming abruptly as he kicked her in the side, the crack of her rib breaking sounding firmly throughout the room.

"Shut up you little fucking cunt!" he snapped, his eyes blazing with hatred as he kicked her again, "Shut up before I really give you something to cry about!" He smirked at her as she abruptly bit down on her arm, muffling any sound she was making as she continued to shake, tears making tracks down her grimy face. "Paul," he called quietly, the first man appearing from the kitchen, a beer in hand. "No restrictions tonight," he ordered, laughing brightly at the terrified whimper from the girl at his feet, "Have fun."

~*~*~

Pain. Her eyes flashed in fear, the whites too prominent as she strained against the restraints, tried to bite through the thick leather strap in her mouth. Screaming. Barely getting the sound around the intrusion she arched away as another blow came to smack across her face. Dazed. She tried to find him, tried to move, to arch away, to close her legs.

She was helpless.

Paul laughed, the sound seemingly coming from every side as she flinched, tears streaming down her face, her eyes burning from their rapid production.

She felt hands all over her body, she sobbed, trying to fall away from herself, but each time she came close to drifting, each time she grew less responsive she was slapped, beaten, covered in cold water... anything to keep her aware of the hell she lived in each night.

He was suddenly there, on top of her, his stinking breath filling her senses as she retched around the belt, her eyes going wide again as he forced his mouth against her, his laughter shocking her as he pulled back. He bounced on her stomach, causing another scream as her broken rib was further dislocated from its original position.

Laughing he stroked his cock, smirking at her as he forced it to run across her face, her breasts. She snarled, her eyes becoming crazed as he shifted lower and touched her.

"NO!" She screamed, her voice managing to produce enough force to get the word out in recognizable form.

Snickering at her reaction he shook his head at her, his fist balling as he brought it in a sharp backhand across her cheek. "Silly little bitch," he cooed at her as he pumped himself again, his body shuddering as he handled himself, excited beyond means at her struggles. "You still don't get it do you? You'll never get out of here." He laughed.

She sobbed struggling, trying to buck him off of her, her body protesting greatly at every flex, every movement.

He laughed and took a knife from the bedside table; he watched her eyes, laughing in delight as they warily kept track of the glinting blade. "Aww, is the baby bitch scared?" He asked, cooking at her in delight as she whimpered and shifted. He waited for a few moments, watching her chest heave with excitement before giggling and moving his hips, shoving himself deep within her battered body. He rode her, his face twisting into a grimace as he reached further his fist gripping the knife as he used the other hand on her stomach to steady himself. He moaned, his pleasure reaching new heights as his vision flashed white, and as she cried out in fear and anger, the knife was plunged deep into her shoulder.

Pain surrounded her, enveloped her, the cleansing fire of it burning throughout the battered body encasing her soul as she vaguely heard an inhuman noise erupting in the room. Moments later at another fierce punch to the jaw she realized the noise was from her, throat aching from the strain of the howl. Her eyes rolled back into her head as another blow, this time from a nearby bat struck at the shoulder recently stabbed.

"You stupid cunt! What have I told you about screaming?" Michael yelled, the bat coming back down along with his fist as he began beating her, soon joined by Paul and two other friends. His eyes were burning with rage and a spark of insanity as he began to smile, giggling as he beat her, his face twisted in a snarl.

Cheyenne sobbed her tears beginning anew as she waited for the beating to stop; but the end never came. She was shocked as she saw a gun in Michael's hands, his face broken into a wide grin as he cocked it and pointed it to her hand, "I need to teach you a lesson!" He yelled out, his eyes twinkling. The gun discharged causing a pain worse than the knife in her shoulder. With a gentle sigh, she floated back into the dirty mattress, and let darkness take her.

~*~*~

The shot heard round the world it wasn't, but the sudden stillness in the bitch, and the boys' reactions around him made Michael suddenly uneasy. Growling as he nudged her, the bullet wound in her arm bleeding onto the bed in a fascinating way, he was surprised to get no response.

Giggling in nervous amusement he snapped his fingers impatiently, trying avidly to avoid the men staring at him in shock, he began to secretly worry that he'd gone a little too far with his pet.

After a few more seconds of trying to wake her up, down to outright shaking he sat back with slacked features as he stared at the corpse on the bed. "Get rid of it, dump the body about ten miles away, over closer to the slums," he ordered quietly as he got up, shrugging as he tossed the gun in the bedside table and getting off the bed with apparent ease. "I'll look into getting us another toy later."

He studiously ignored the three men as they carried the emaciated body out of the house, showing less remorse than most people did about finding and killing a small bug. He turned the television on, settling in to watch a wrestling show as he took a sip from his beer. He paused in the sip of the beverage as he heard the quiet noises of the engine turning and the van lumbering out of the driveway and down the road. Sighing in contentedness he reclined the chair and decided he'd start looking for a replacement Monday.

~*~*~

Eric sighed in annoyance at Wes, who lay contentedly snoring, burrowed deep in his bed. "Collins!" He snapped, smirking as Wes jumped in the air and spun around, his eyes blearily catching a fully dressed Eric standing over him.

"Shit, I forgot to set my alarm didn't I?" He asked roughly as he forced the covers aside and stumbled past the smirking man towards his closet, a large yawn escaping noisily as he forced a ribbed t-shirt over his head. "We're running then coming home to shower right?" He verified as he shoved his legs quickly into a pair of sweats as Eric sat and tapped his foot impatiently on the bed.

"Yes Wes, like we do every morning," Eric sighed as he stood again and rolled his eyes at the beaten looking trainers his fellow commander shoved his feet into. "If you don't hurry we'll be late," he added impatiently as he stormed out of Wes' bedroom and towards the front door, smirking anew at the sound of a crash and an exclamation of pain from the Blonde.

Wes followed him, rubbing his shoulder ruefully, "Well even if we are, what are they going to do? Write us up for tardiness?" He teased as he grabbed his water bottle and took a swig before meeting Eric at the door.

They quickly exited the house, making their way down the barely familiar drive as they began jogging east, silent as usual.

The neighborhood was quiet, peaceful at six. The sun peaking out over the low roofs and warming the streets made Wes smile pleasantly as he took another sip of his water, keeping pace with Eric as they made their way past a large field that bordered the newly developed neighborhood.

In the old house, they had run four miles each morning, jogging the perimeter of the lake in the park a few blocks from Eric's house. But now they had mapped out a new route along the meadow like expanse to the middle school and back, roughly adding another eighth of a mile to their run.

Letting his eyes wander along the scenic surroundings, he waved at a little girl getting walked to the car by her mother, smiling brightly as she waved back. Glancing over at Eric, Wes smirked and bumped his shoulder gently getting a snort of irritation from the other man as he bumped back, speeding up his pace causing Wes to laugh and catch up.

He took another swig of his water, enjoying the cool crisp taste it left in his mouth before something caught his eye. He slowed his jog, ignoring Eric's huff as he began moving off of the sidewalk and into the grass ditch near them.

"Wes! Will you get out of the field before someone comes and tries to shoot you for trespassing or something?" Eric called irritably, his eyes scanning the meadow for whatever had caught Wes' attention.

"Eric, call 911," Wes replied, his body twitching as he quickly knelt and reached forward.

"Wes?" Eric asked, his hands automatically fishing out the cell phone he carried for work. "What is it?" He asked as he dialed the number, speaking briefly with the operator as he made his way and stared in horror at the body lying on the ground.

Wes looked up, his face strained but hopeful, "She's alive! Tell them to hurry!"

~*~*~

The paramedics had arrived within five minutes, quickly acting to brace the girl and get her on a gurney rushing her to Silver Hills Memorial. Wes had traveled with her, happy to answer the questions of how and when they had found her and whether he was familiar with the girl. Eric had gone home to change, call them both out for at least the morning, and gather an outfit for Wes to change into once he got the clothes to him.

He arrived a short while later, finding Wes easily as he was filling out paperwork for the police and pacing the floor. "How is she?" Eric asked, handing the bag of garments to Wes.

Wes sighed, taking the bag and running a hand through his hair. "Well, obviously as we found her in a field, we don't know who she is or what happened to her until she wakes up and can answer some questions. Until she does, the doctors don't know who to contact for consent as she is obviously a minor. They have no records of her in this hospital, they're calling around but they can't find her in the system. If she can't tell us who she is when she wakes up we'll never know. Until then though, she could be allergic to anything, and the doctors are cautious about what treatments to give her, though they are hopeful that with a lot of TLC and some serious meds and surgeries she'll be ok."

Eric winced and shook his head in sympathy. "Poor Kid, is there anything we can do?"

Wes nodded carefully, trying to choose his words, "Well, we can sign up to be temporary guardians for her care until her relatives are found. At the very least it lets the doctor's have some breathing room in their treatments of her and we can check up on her well being easier."

Eric sighed, pinning his counterpart with a stern look, "We'll be paying for it too won't we?" He asked his posture and voice weary with resignation.

Wes grinned, seeing the conceded affirmation Eric had given, "Naw, I'll pay for it all, you just need to be there to make the tough decisions," he teased as he motioned a hospital official over and signed some paperwork.

Eric groaned and followed him, his face set in a blank look as they were taken in the back to discuss the girl's condition. The doctor's had named her Jane as in the original Jane Doe and were sticking to it as they explained her extensive injuries.

"_Well Jane, welcome to the party." _ He thought wryly to himself as he forced himself to focus on the doctor's diagnosis, "_Welcome to the party."_

~*~*~

A/N: Well, that was fun. Sorry it's so short in comparison to the other chapters but it was a lot more emotional to write and it marks the turning point in her life

Ok so it was actually really, really hard but the brutality is over *for the most part* and the healing shall commence soon. I realize the brothers Bradley didn't make it in this chapter, sorry! I was making sure to set her up for waking up. The next chapter is set a few weeks from now, and will be focusing on Cheyenne waking in the hospital and her first meeting with Wes and Eric. I might flash to everyone in Blue Bay Harbor for a brief moment in the next chapter but if you don't see them for a couple of em, don't stress.

SUMMERY OF CHAPTER FOR THOSE WHO SKIPPED: Cheyenne was raped by a friend of her cousin's and subsequently beaten for screaming at being stabbed. She was shot in the hand by Michael and fell into a deep unconsciousness. She was presumed dead, and her body was dumped a few miles away. Eric and Wes went on their daily jog the next morning, and Wes caught sight of her hair in the field. They called emergency services and she was admitted to the hospital and Eric and Wes became her guardians until her family is located.


	5. Hope

Ok guys, here is chapter four. I've been doing a lot of medical research for this chapter, trying to make both her injuries and her treatment somewhat within the realm of possibility. I've been told by a couple of my sounding people that her injuries are almost too extensive, so I though I'd get into that here.

I realize she has this huge laundry list of injuries, and it seems pretty fantastical for someone this young. But consider that these would have been spread out over 11 years, some of them would be caused or aggravated by a new injury and most of the broken bones happened because she's had very little nutritional supplement so her bones are seriously brittle.

She has muscle and tissue deterioration, she has severe mental trauma, she's got infections, she has multiple fractures in her skeletal system, and problems associated with starvation such as rickets, distended stomach, weakness of body and immunity and bad eyesight.

There is a very small section devoted to checking in on Hunter, Blake and the gang, however please don't be upset if its not long or detailed enough for your liking, I'm only adding it in because its been three weeks since the last chapter.

I want to thank all of my reviewers: JueseaPeterson, Bloomsky, and Alamodie for their praise and suggestions. I'm very happy you guys are enjoying it. Sorry it took me so long to update!

Chapter Four:

As the weeks quickly passed the rangers' lives slowly returned to normal. Hunter has returned to training, Lothor continued to interrupt their lives with various monster attacks. They had overcome the bruises from their last battle, both physical and emotional, Shane being the slowest to heal from his fight for Skyla. But things were still off with the eldest Thunder Ranger.

The first indication was the weather, something that sounded a bit humorous to any who said it aloud but it had been storming on and off for the past three weeks in accordance with his disappearances. Although he has joined back in the training exercises, he had not once joined Blake and Dustin at the track, nor was he seen in town besides work and his ranger duties. The rest of the time he would escape into nature, meditating and brooding.

Cam was slowly boiling in his impatience with the other's attitude towards the team. Although he himself was by no means the poster child for emotional availability he was still aggravated with Hunter's distance. He'd been formulating a plan of action while he encoded new improvements for their weapons and zords and at the soft beeping of his alarm clock, groaned when he realized he'd spent yet another night in front of the computer.

Stretching out cramped muscles he winced at the resounding pops from his spine as he straightened and made his way to the training room. Grabbing two training swords and padding quietly back into the main area of ops he quickly positioned himself at the entrance and knelt, the two swords placed ceremoniously before him.

Moments passed as he relaxed and began to lightly meditate and prepare himself for the confrontation with Hunter. He was planning on helping the younger man, whether he wanted the help or not. He became hyper aware of his surroundings, taking in the light chirping of alarm clocks and the sleepy shuffle of feet as the two other human inhabitants awoke and began preparing themselves for the day.

Almost twenty minutes later the two brothers grudgingly made their way from the quarter's area of the underground operations area. Though Cam's eyes were closed, he could distinctly feel the twin stares as they caught sight of his position in front of the exit.

"Cam, are you awake? Dude, you're kinda in the way and we got to get to work, bro!" Blake called, a bit of a breeze flowing over Cam's face as Blake waved a hand in front of the Asian's face

Cam never moved, never twitched, refused to acknowledge the younger Thunder as he felt the body heat from his body move back to stand near his brother. The older Thunder hadn't moved, hadn't tried to get Cam's acknowledgement, he just stared, waiting trying to figure out what would happen next with the oldest of their team.

Blake sighed and moved closer to the wall and moved passed Cam, his knee brushing the older man but still not managing to provoke a reaction out of the Samurai as he managed to get passed him and looked expectantly over his head at his brother, "Come on Bro, we're going to be late if we don't leave now!" He urged as Hunter sighed and moved forward.

This time however, a reaction was indeed brought forth by the movement. Cam shot his hand out, the sword on his lap now stretching out to block Hunter's path as he stepped closer to the still kneeling man. "Uh Cam, I need to go," Hunter muttered as Blake shifted impatiently.

Cam finally opened his dark eyes, rolling them gently up to meet the ice blue of the younger man in front of him. "Blake, take the car and go to work, inform Kelly that Hunter will be in later and that I will personally see that he is there and all of the work is completed," Cam said quietly, his eyes never leaving the Crimson ranger before him.

Blake paused, his body thrumming with the tension that was quickly building in the room as his brother and Cam stared at each other. "Uh, sure bro, I'll make sure she knows," he agreed hesitantly before hesitating a bit longer.

Cam frowned as he felt the younger Thunder's hesitation and broke the eye contact with Hunter to turn and look at Blake, "Problem?" He asked softly as he suddenly shot out the sword to stop Hunter from sneaking off.

Blake watched Cam's thrust and Hunter's quiet snarl, swallowing thickly in the suddenly charged air from the barely constrained current rolling off of his older brother. "Uh yeah, um Hunter has the keys," he muttered as he looked down, his toe scuffing against the stone floor as he tried not to bring Hunter's intense glare towards him.

Cam nodded before standing fluidly, his body rolling with the balls of his feet as he stepped towards the taller fair-haired man and reached slowly into his jacket pocket to withdraw the keys. "Have a good day, we'll see you later," he said absently as he tossed the keys back towards Blake.

Blake caught the keys and blinked down at them before looking back up to find Cam and Hunter hadn't quite moved, though their energies were practically dancing, filling the room oppressively. "S…sure, I'll see you later," he muttered before practically fleeing the room.

Hunter watched Blake run off; his face set firmly, eyes flashing with the lightning he desperately tried not to release in the middle of ops. "What do you want, Cam?" He ground out tightly as he turned his attention back to the green clad Samurai before him. "What do you want with me?"

Cam smiled gently as he reached out the hand with the sword and then motioned the wooden blade towards the sword still sitting before the entrance. "I want you to fight me," he whispered, the air caressing the words as his lips did, making Hunter shiver as he turned still charged eyes to meet the older man's.

"Why, don't you think I should go to work and do my duty there instead?" He asked his body tense as it always was recently.

Cam considered and took a step further away, the air loosing some of the choking intensity as their bodies realigned to the new distance between them.

"Although you do have a duty to perform and fulfill the responsibilities you have in your job at Storm Chargers, you also have a duty and responsibility to care for yourself, not only physically; which you are barely keeping up with, but emotionally as well, and there you are seriously neglecting yourself," Cam said gently as he lifted the other sword from the floor and held it out to Hunter.

Hunter stared at the older man, his body tensing further in anticipation for what might happen next.

Cam exhaled, his body seeming to fortify itself with the next breath as he squared his shoulders and continued, "Therefore I want you to spar with me, fight me, and use me and my knowledge and skill to reclaim your center, your calm and your composure."

Hunter watched, barely resisting the urge to step backwards as the other man came closer the sword still held out to him. "Fight you to find myself? That sounds pretty stupid," he muttered as electrical currents burst from his fists to travel up his arms before they dispersed as quickly as they appeared.

Cam shook his head, the wooden sword tapping Hunter once on the arm, causing Crimson to start with the unexpected contact. "You've never really dealt with the knowledge of your sister's death, or of your parents' have you, you've never cried for them?" He asked softly as the younger man's hand gently took hold of the sword.

Hunter flexed his hand around the handle of the sword and shook his head wordlessly in response. "I couldn't, I had to be strong."

Cam nodded before swiftly bringing his sword around to snap at Hunter's thigh, smiling grimly as the older man barely managed to block the blow. "Fight me, Hunter," he whispered before swinging around again to try the other's defenses again.

And suddenly, he did.

They traded quick blows, the swords slowly giving way to kicks, which gave way to punches, which slowly gave way to tears as Hunter finally collapsed to the floor, tears streaming down his face as Cam gathered the other man close and held him.

Hunter suddenly screamed, his hands punching into Cam's chest before gripping the other's sweater and drawing him closer as he buried his face in the other's neck and sobbed, howled and screamed for the loss of his family.

~*~*~

Eric walked into the stark hospital room, rolling his eyes and grinning softly at the sight that greeted him. Jane, the girl they'd found more than three weeks prior had been in numerous surgeries after their careful discussions with the doctors. She'd fortunately not had any negative reactions to the treatments and medicines and as the days progressed, the doctors seemed to be a lot more at ease in their ministrations.

She'd been carefully bathed before all of the casts were applied, and her hair had been washed carefully and braided. They'd been firm on the decision to keep it long, wanting to give her the opportunity to change it as she wished when she was coherent. So it sat piled on her pillow, the braid carefully coiled to keep it from tugging any of the wires.

He moved closer, a bouquet of tulips in the vase he'd bought at whim gently placed on the dresser near her bed as he shook Wes awake and handed him a sandwich and water from the cafeteria. He checked all of the monitors, making sure that they were all recording the appropriate data as he sat on the other side of the bed and gently stroked the girl's hand.

He looked up to find Wes grinning at him and rolled his eyes, "I talked to the Doctor today, they said she's been healing well, the infections finally gone and the incision sites and the metal pins have all set properly. They think it might be a good time to take her off most of the anesthetic. They obviously don't want to drop her off of it completely, they want to make sure she doesn't freak out when she wakes up, but they need to know who she is and they want to get her in physical therapy before her muscles get any worse."

Eric nodded, his mind reeling with the possibilities of what might happen when she awoke. "I've checked with all of the missing persons' records, no one matching her age and description has gone missing in the past year in this area. I've checked in a 20 mile radius, whoever left her there either wanted her dead or she's been walking a lot further than we thought." He responded as he sighed and shook his head in disgust. "Eat, I'm going to go get the Doctor and sign off on letting them drop the anesthetic."

Wes nodded, smiling up at the dark haired man as he stalked off. Turning towards the bed he stroked her hand gently, mindful of the nearby injury and I.V. tube. "It's alright Jane, you're safe now," he whispered gently as he leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

The doctor bustled in a few moments later, smiling brightly at Wes as she began to efficiently check Jane's vitals. "Alright, now the biggest thing will be getting her to not strain at the wires in her jaw, those will take another 3 weeks before they can come out. So what I'm going to do is take her down to a milder dose where she'll still be really calm but be able to comprehend where she is and what she will and won't be able to do."

Wes nodded in understanding, smiling as Eric took up a protective stance over the bed. "So she'll be able to hear us and understand but she still won't be able to talk for quite a while right?"

The doctor nodded as she began to change the drip of medication in her I.V. "Yes that's right, I'm going to explain about her being found, explain that you found her and will be helping her out until she finds her family, ask her to write down any family names or allergies or any information she thinks we'll need, and then offer to let her communicate with a counselor."

Eric considered and then agreed softly, "We also need to communicate to her that we understand she's been through a lot but that neither Wes nor myself would ever consider hurting her, and that she's very safe here," he stated firmly as he settled into the chair that Wes had vacated to pace.

The doctor nodded and monitored the young girl for a few more minutes before gently speaking, "Hello Dear, my name is Amelia Hart, I'm a doctor at Silver Hills General Hospital," she said gently as bright blue eyes opened. "I want you to understand you are not in trouble, you are currently being cared for by my staff, and they are all female. You've had some very extensive injuries treated, one of which was a broken jaw. You'll not be able to comfortably talk for the next few weeks so to make this easier, please blink once if you understand or twice if you don't."

Eric watched as the blue eyes flashed around before blinking once.

Doctor Hart smiled down at her, "I'm going to keep you under a mild anesthetic, it will keep you calm and keep you from feeling too much pain, do you understand?"

The girl blinked once.

Doctor Hart smiled down at her as she checked the various casts and incision marks. "Do you know your name?"

The girl blinked once, her eyes still dreamy as she lay perfectly still.

Doctor Hart nodded once before motioning for Wes and Eric to come closer, "Dear, two police officers were the ones that found you, their names are Eric Meyers and Wes Collins, they've agreed to take care of you until we can contact your family. They wanted you to know that they will not hurt you for any reason and that you are safe in their care. Do you understand?"

The girl seemed to size them up, her eyes blinking once as she settled on them and then turned back to regard the Doctor.

The Doctor considered for a moment more before picking up a pad of paper and a pencil. "Can you write?"

The girl hesitated but then blinked twice.

Doctor Hart frowned then smiled softly, "Can you help me by blinking when I get to the right letters of your name?" She asked, smiling when the girl blinked once. It was a tedious process but they soon learned her name was Cheyenne.

Eric smiled, giving the doctor a look to stop the questions before smiling down at her gently, "Well Miss Cheyenne, we'll let you get some sleep," he said gently before showing her how to contact the nurse. "If you need them to call us, we'll leave instructions with them to call us at any time you want to see us and we'll come, alright?"

She considered him for a moment then blinked once.

He smiled down at her and slowly stroked her hand. "We'll be by to see you in the morning; you just rest and try to feel better," he said gently, smiling as Wes came up beside him and flashed her a small smile. "He's right, we'll be back soon."

She blinked once more and then closed her eyes as they slowly left the room.

Wes was practically skipping down the hall as Eric walked more sedately with the Doctor. "So you have our phone numbers on call, at any time, day or night if she wants to see us, call and we'll get here in about 20 minutes."

Amelia smiled at him and noted it in Cheyenne's chart. "We will indeed, you gentlemen have a good rest, we've got her taken care of."

Wes thanked her as he shrugged his jacket on. Quickly turning and motioning Eric to follow him out to their cars. "So how about Chinese for dinner? I think we need to celebrate."

Eric nodded before smirking at the other man, his own mood severely heightened by their first interaction with their charge. "Only if you're buying it," he teased back as he climbed into his car and grinned at Wes' laughter.

"Sure, see you at home," Wes called back before climbing onto his bike and taking off.

Eric smiled and pulled out of the parking lot, finally relaxing as the gentle jazz poured out of the speakers on his ride home.

~*~*~

It was much later in the night when Eric was woken by the ringing of his phone. Blearily looking at the clock he fumbled with the device momentarily before managing to answer it. "Meyers," he answered hoarsely, clearing his throat as his door opened to reveal a wildly disarrayed Wes.

"_Hello Mr. Meyers, this is Maggie on the night shift at General? Your ward, Jane; She's asking for you." _

Eric was momentarily stunned from this proclamation and covered it quickly by kicking Wes when he sat down on his bed. "Did you notice the note put in about her name being Cheyenne?" He muttered as he sat up.

"_I'm sorry sir, can you repeat that? I didn't quite catch what you said."_ The nurse cheerfully responded as Eric waved Wes off to get dressed.

"Sorry, talking to myself, we'll be right there." He returned before hanging up and standing with a groan as his back popped, "Come on, get ready, the kid wants to see us."

Wes nodded, standing and swaying in place for a moment as he got his bearings, "Did they say anything was wrong?" He asked tiredly as he trudged towards the door.

Eric grunted as he pulled on a pair of well worn jeans, "No, but it doesn't matter, welcome to parenthood Wes, she cries, we come to soothe." He joked playfully as he grabbed a black t-shirt and shoved his feet in sandals. "Now hurry up, can't keep her waiting," he grumbled as Wes reappeared from his room with a shirt in hand. "I'm driving; why don't you try to get dressed by the time we get there huh?"

Wes gave him a sheepish grin as he followed the slightly older man out of the house and into the cool night. He locked the door behind them, shivering as he quickly made his way to the car Eric had idling in the driveway.

The ride was quick, having no traffic to fight through on their way to the hospital and they made their way towards Cheyenne's room. Eric took charge immediately, nodding to the nurses and taking the lead as he knocked twice and slowly opened the door to their Ward's room. Wes smiled at the girl on the bed, yawning behind his hand as he followed Eric to her bedside.

Eric gave the girl a small smile as he sat down next to her, gently patting her hand as he glared at the yawning blonde across from them and grin forming on his lips as he saw her eyes brighten. "Hey kiddo, what's up?" He asked softly as he stroked Cheyenne's hair soothingly.

She attempted a hesitant smile, her lips curling back but unable to fully stretch with the wires holding her jaw in place. "You came! I wasn't sure that it was real," she said carefully, her words understandable but muffled.

Wes leaned forward his hand gently stroking down her cheek and drawing dark blue eyes to meet his own, "Well of course its real, we're going to care for you; at least until we find your family."

Cheyenne had focused on Wes as he spoke despite her eyes occasionally flitting to Eric as if to assure herself that he was still in his seat. When Wes spoke of her family however her reaction was surprising. She had completely closed down with the final word of his statement, her features shutting down, her eyes growing cold and her entire demeanor growing old and tense.

Eric shot Wes a small frown, his hand gently scooping Cheyenne's up from the bed, "Cheyenne, dear what is it?" He asked softly as Wes scooted closer and gently stroked her other hand.

She shook her head in response, tears beginning to stream down her face.

Eric sighed and slowly hummed under his breath as he let his hand gently keep hold of hers, "Cheyenne, we can't help if you don't tell us what is wrong," he informed her, a bit of his typical firmness creeping back into his voice.

Her bright blue eyes opened, taking in the two men on either side of her warily. Finally she let out a small sigh and closed them again, "Please don't send me back to him!" She begged the fear easily apparent in her face and voice, "Just kill me now if that is all you're going to do!" She pleased, opening her eyes again to find horrified expressions marring their features.

"Cheyenne; do you know who did this to you?" Wes asked carefully as Eric retrieved a tissue and gently dried the tears from her cheeks and eyes.

The young girl carefully nodded her body shivering as she pulled her hands away and hid them in her blanket. "My Cousin and legal Guardian, Michael Clarke," she whispered, a soft sob following the confession as pressure seemed to lift from her chest and fresh tears fell in silvery trails down her face.

Eric met Wes' eyes and nodded sharply causing the blond man to leave quietly, "Cheyenne, hunny how long has this been going on?" he asked gently, his voice uncharacteristically timid.

She opened grief darkened eyes, and he marveled to himself at their rich almost purple color as they searched his face, "Since I was four," she said quietly, flinching for a moment as he brought his hand closer, only relaxing as he gently dabbed her tears away and pulled his hand back from her face.

Eric nodded and stood from the seat next to her bed, "Hunny, we'll be back soon, we're going to make sure that lowlife creep never sees or touches you again."

She turned warily hopeful eyes up to meet his before the former ghost of a smile slowly reappeared, "Do you promise?" She asked him with an almost childlike intensity.

Eric nodded, a dark expression firming his features as he slipped on his sunglasses and turned towards the door. Turning back as his hand wrapped around the door handled he smiled at her, "Oh yeah, I promise."

A/N: SQUEALS! Ok so there we go, forth chapter… next one will be awesome, Wes is going to be itching to spend some money on their new ward and Michael's going to get what is coming to him… I hope you loved it… Please tell me what you thought and I'm so sorry for the delay once again! I promise to get the other up in a timelier manner… I found out how to edit videos for YouTube and kinda got sidetracked…


	6. Resolution of a Kind

Hey All I'm Back! Sorry it took me so long to update this chapter, its been a hard couple of weeks, good news is I lost some weight, bad news is I just got fired! *screams in fright/frustration!!!* Anywhos I hope you enjoy reading this chapter. I realize it might be a bit slow in places but unfortunately as Cheyenne is in therapy (emotional and physical) and they had to deal with Michael the Pig, I couldn't just make it fluffy kittens. I tried to give Hunter a bit more depth in this chapter, I don't know it just seems like something he'd do but never admit to. *grins* The next chapter will probably be split by what follows right after this chapter then splitting into what happens like three weeks from now when she's released and some of her injuries are healed (jaw, ribs, arm, ankle) the others won't be healed completely but by then it will be close so she'll be like in a wheelchair/crutches.

Ok enough babbling!

CHAPTER FIVE

Wes sighed in frustration, his eyes pouring over the information they'd pulled up on Michael Clarke. He had gone down to the local precinct, getting in contact with the police to bring them in on the investigation as they had the appropriate forensics teams available to them and the clout in the courts. Eric paced on the sidelines, the information they found on Clarke having moved him into a fit, especially when they found the certificate for a Cheyenne Clarke stating her death at age five.

Glancing up to find Eric's features, Wes was suddenly reassured that they were doing the correct thing as he caught sight of his clenched jaw and blazing eyes. Turning at someone calling their names he nodded in greeting to the two officers walking towards them. "Sorry for calling you out here so late detectives," Wes apologized as he handed them the file of information they'd dug up on their suspect.

"This is Michael Clarke, three weeks ago we found a young Jane Doe, approximately 15 years old in a field near our residence. After she woke we found out her name was Cheyenne and that her many injuries were caused by her guardian and cousin. We want him arrested and brought to court but we need to gather more physical evidence. Among the documents and other bits of information we found out about Clarke we found adoption papers for his four year old cousin and a year later a death certificate."

The senior partner, Van Rodriguez reached forward to accept the papers, looking over them thoroughly with his partner Gabe looking over his shoulder. "So you need a search warrant from a judge and then want in on the bust?" he checked as he glanced up to find Wes nodding and Eric glaring off in the distance, his body thrumming with the need to run off and deal with the situation himself.

Gabe sighed and scrubbed his face for a moment before picking up the phone and making the call. Wes watched the younger cop wake the judge before he moved his attentions back to Rodriquez, "So I have the address and found out where he lives on the map, according to the information I have, he lives out in the middle of nowhere, just barely on this side of the county line and definitely outside of the city. Whatever else he has out there he's sure keeping to himself. I think we need to go in with some serious backup. One of the injuries she sustained was a bullet wound to the arm and she has a knife wound to the shoulder. He obviously doesn't shy from using weapons and I get the feeling that he wasn't alone in his treatment of her, he may have friends."

Rodriguez nodded in understanding and looked around the office. "I might be able to round up a few men, do you have any on call you can get in contact with?"

Wes nodded but it was Eric who answered, "Oh they'll be here, I don't care what they're doing." He vowed angrily as he continued pacing.

Van smiled at Wes who was staring at Eric in shock. "I take it he really doesn't like this Clarke character?" He asked as Gabe hung up and came back over with a pleased expression on his face.

Wes shook his head as Gabe spoke up, "We got the search warrant approved, we just need to swing by to pick it up."

Rodriguez nodded as he stood and motioned the Rangers closer. "Tell your men to meet us there, I'll round up a forensics team and we'll go to get the bastard. Gabe, what do we have permission for exactly?" He asked in curiosity as he grabbed a vest and pulled it on.

Gabe smirked as he grabbed another vest and slung it over his shoulder. "Well I told the judge what I knew, Eric Meyers and Wesley Collins, co-commanders of the Silver Guardians and ex Power Rangers found a severely abused 15 year old abandoned and left for dead in a field, she named her guardian responsible and based on the injuries, including a bullet wound, knife wound, severe starvation and dog bites that he was involved in willful attempted murder and rape and that there was probably all sorts of illegal activities surrounding him. In short, there was a very bad man out there and we were just given a great lead to put him away for a very long time. She was thrilled, and as there is an election coming up with her name on the ballot I figured it would be great publicity for her to have signed off on our collecting whatever we could find in order to bring peace back to the city; she of course agreed wholeheartedly."

Van laughed heartily as he climbed into the back of the SUV Eric had idling by the curb. "Good work now lets go get the bastard."

~*~*~

Eric watched the perimeter, carefully making out Wes and the detectives in the predawn glow of morning. After the short clicking interval on the radio frequency they were all tuned in to they quickly approached the house, guns figuratively blazing.

They had been staking out the house for over two hours, in the short time they watched they realized there were at least four men in the house, there were a ton of dogs in the back and the situation was much worse than they had imagined it to be.

Letting Van and Gabe precede them, Eric grabbed Wes' arm and held him back sharply bidding him to be careful as they held their blasters at the ready. Van rapped his fist against the door, giving the occupants no more than twenty seconds before repeating the loud knocks.

A bleary eyed man opened the door only to shout in surprise and attempt to shut it in their faces at the sight of firearms and police badges. Eric smirked as he lent a foot to kick the door open for the officers following orders to round up the rest of the occupants, his disgust with them rising as he found two passed out drunk, one soiled and another laying in a puddle of vomit which he was feebly trying to pull himself out of.

There was an outraged shout from the direction of the yard and another much crasser stream of profanities originating in the bedroom as the Guardians quickly scoured the house and brought the five men out into the yard and on their knees.

Eric watched the men with narrowed eyes, breaking his stare only as Wes ran to his side, his usually bright face shuttered and sickly. "Wes, what's wrong with you?"

Wes shook his head as if trying to rid it of cotton as he met the other man's eyes. "Its bad out the Eric. We found another teenager in the back with the dogs. She hasn't been there long; it looks like she was snatched off the street about a week ago. She's got a fractured wrist and a few bruises but she'll be alright physically. She's kinda freaked out though, not that I can blame her. But Eric, its so bad out there, there is blood everywhere in the back, most of the dogs are dying if not already dead and the house has to be a smorgasbord of incriminating evidence. On my way out back I noticed that there are framed pictures of Cheyenne naked. The house, god Eric I don't know it just feels dirty and I think I'm kind of ill actually; just being in there makes me want to punch someone. I don't even think dealing with Ransik made me this sick."

Eric sighed and nodded in agreement, "Do you want to sit out here and roast them with the Collins glare while I go bag and tag some of their filth?" he asked softly as he sent his own glare to the shivering half naked men on the ground.

Wes hesitated for a moment before nodding his eyes closing for a moment as if ashamed with his own inability to handle the horror. "Yeah, if you don't mind I think I need to stay out of there," he whispered back, his body shuddering uncontrollably.

Eric smiled and patted his shoulder gently as he shifted his weight and chuckled, "Meanwhile why not figure out how you're going to spoil your little ward because after today I have a feeling its going to be permanent," he teased, knowing Wes' delight at spending money.

Wes flashed a quick smile at Eric, the familiar gleam beginning to creep into his eyes at the concept of spoiling the young girl waiting for them at the hospital. "Hurry up Eric, I want to start spoiling her by lunch," he returned with a small smile slowly spreading across his face.

Eric shook his head in amusement as he made his way back to the house. "Keep your pants on Collins, you'll see her soon enough," he shot back playfully as he entered the house to collect the evidence they needed to keep Cheyenne with them permanently.

~*~*~

Hunter was sitting in the corner of ops, ignoring the quiet clatter of keys coming from Cam's super computer as he buried himself in his book, his brow furrowed in concentration as the Merriam Webster Dictionary took prominence beside him. Although he was quite certain the sight of him reading would bring aneurysms to half of the team, he was ecstatic to find that Cam only seemed to have a very silent sense of approval whenever he caught the elder Thunder with his head in a book. Subsequently, Cam had found himself with company nearly every day as Hunter used ops as his own personal retreat from the outside world and the teasing of the others he feared would come of him reading something other than a comic.

Of course there was always a catch.

"Um Cam, do you think you could help me with this?" Hunter asked softly as he watched the older man with slight apprehension.

Cam gave the slightest of sighs before turning and nodding at the blond, "What with, a translation?"

Hunter shook his head and held his book aloft for Cam to see, "I'm reading The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer and its really funny but I don't really get the Wife of Bath."

Cam grinned for a moment as he came over and sat down next to the blond, "Well its been quite a while since I've read Chaucer but if I remember correctly the whole bit from the Wife of Bath is of course, a farce about this woman who is a bit of a black widow, and she's offering up her advice on marriage because she's been married so many times and its about how she makes a fool out of her husbands by using her brains, her intimidating personality and her sex appeal to tease and accuse her husbands into what she wants. She is always quoting the scriptures to back up her point of view but she usually does it wrong, her last husband was her worst and best because although he wouldn't take her shit he also loved her and it all ended happily."

Hunter grinned then, nodding as he surveyed the page, his expression smoothing as he stretched cramped muscles. "Thanks Cam, it makes much more sense when you summarize it; she's kind of long winded and manages to forget what she's talking about a lot."

Cam nodded as he reached over and took the book, "What translation… good lord you're reading it in Middle English?" he exclaimed as his eyes sought out and translated the older style of writing. "No wonder your confused, its bad enough translated!"

Hunter laughed and nodded as he put his bookmark in place and stood up, "Yeah but it adds to the story when you read it in the original form. Anyway, I need a break from the middle ages soap operas, want to grab a bite to eat?" he inquired as he held a hand out for Cam.

The Samurai nodded and stood, following Hunter into the kitchen, "So how have you been lately, I mean ever since our sparring session you've been really quite which isn't bad, but," he hesitated and caught the younger man's eyes, "you know I'm here if you want to talk right?"

Hunter nodded but stayed silent as he quickly got out the leftovers from the night before and began to heat the stir-fry in the wok on the stove. "I know," he whispered as he served Cam some ten minutes later meeting his gaze quickly before efficiently cleaning the wok and sitting down across from him.

They ate silently for a few moments, taking refuge in the comfortable silence surrounding them before Hunter spoke softly, "Sometimes I'd like to try and find her grave, just visit her for a bit to get some closure but I don't know where I'd go to look for it. There are times when I just want to go to the top of a mountain or a huge cliff and just scream and rage about how unfair it all is."

Cam nodded his eyes moist as he thought of the possibilities of what Hunter was saying.

Hunter looked up at Cam and sighed as he noticed the other's teary eyes. "You know, you and the winds have really helped us out. I mean no matter how horrible I was you never really took it out on us… on me. I know I've got a lot to make up for still, but I just wanted you to know I'm grateful to you for not turning your back on us, god knows we would have deserved it."

Cam shook his head as he spooned another bit of rice and quickly ate it. "Hunter, just because you made a mistake doesn't mean we're going to hold it against you and Blake. You were misguided but you were fighting for honorable reasons and we know that. And I don't know if you're interested but I can look in to finding Cheyenne's grave for you if you really want to visit her."

Hunter nodded hesitantly, "I really appreciate it, Cam."

~*~*~

Cheyenne was resting her eyes in the hospital, occasionally flexing her arms and legs as she tried to regain feeling and motion in her limbs. The doctor had explained to her that she was going to have to work really hard to regain the ability to use her arms and legs after all of the broken bones and muscle damage she had received throughout her life.

She was waiting for the physical therapist to come in the room; she had already had a session later in the night and was due for another just to work her legs back and forth trying to loosen the tightened tendons.

She had been informed of all of her injuries and had been given some pretty potent vitamin supplements in order to help her regain her strength; she couldn't ever remember feeling this good. She smiled carefully at the physical therapist as she knocked and briskly entered the room with a cart showing various exercise equipment and instruments she'd need to complete her session.

"Well Miss Cheyenne, how are you feeling today? Are you ready to try your exercises again?" the nurse asked cheerfully as she grabbed a few things off the cart and put them on the bed.

Cheyenne nodded, her face adopting a determined set as held her hands out for the stress balls in the therapist's hands.

She worked hard over the next two hours, pushing herself to the brink of exhaustion as she determinedly finished the full session, despite the flashes of pain it brought. The therapist, who had insisted Cheyenne call Momma Jo, had attempted to end the session early only to be fought with by a very stubborn teenager.

After the end of the workout, Momma Jo was carefully helping Cheyenne into a wheelchair with another nurse when a knock sounded at the door.

Cheyenne quickly smoothed the paper gown over her legs, her diminutive stature bringing the material over her knees as Wes peeked his head in, "Oh, you're up! Is everything alright?" he asked worriedly as he was all but shoved from behind as Eric anxiously stepped inside to check on her.

Cheyenne smiled at them, her head tilting to the side to observe them as she played with the end of her braid, "I am well, Momma Jo is taking me to get a bath," she informed gently through the wires.

Eric's shoulders slumped in relief and he smiled back at her before slowly taking a knee before her, "Cheyenne, I wanted you to know, we just got back from the police station, and we've arrested your cousin on numerous charges. We talked to the judge and based on the evidence and his pleading guilty, he's been sentenced to life with no possibility of parole."

Cheyenne stared at him in shock her eyes going very wide before flashing them to look at Wes who was smiling at her. Looking back at Eric she started to cry before smiling and holding her uninjured arm out to him.

Eric watched her for a second before leaning in and grasping her hand for a moment, quickly moving back and flashing a small smile before standing. "So where are you off to now?" He asked casually as he stepped back towards Wes.

Momma Jo smiled at the men in the doorway, "Well we're taking her down to a special room where we can get her into a shallow pool meant for people with injuries, we're going to get her a good bath, let her trim her hair if she wants and redo her bandages. You boys should be proud of her, she completed a full round of physical therapy, it looks like she might be healing faster than we thought."

Wes grinned excitedly at her, before stepping closer and crouching down next to the wheelchair. "Well I thought, since we are your guardians now, that I might spoil you a bit," he teased as he handed her a Victoria's Secret bag, a bag from Bath and Body works, and a bag from Macy's.

Momma Jo stared down at it in disbelief, giving Wes a weird look as Cheyenne stared down at the bags in shock. "Oh Mister Wes, you shouldn't have spent your money on me!" the girl cried anxiously as she looked at the bag in surprise.

Wes sighed softly before lowering himself to his ass on the floor, "Cheyenne, sweetie, first off you just call me Wes ok?" he assured her gently, "and second, don't you worry about my spending habits, you're a wonderful girl and you deserve to have nice pretty things. Plus its something to make you feel better and make your stay in the hospital nice, so I want you to have them because you deserve them ok?"

Cheyenne looked up to Eric as if expecting him to disagree but was surprised as he shook his head and smiled at her silently. Looking back to Wes she huffed a sigh and carefully reached into the bath and body works bag only for her hand to immediately come into contact with something smooth. Pulling it out she stared in amazement at a bath kit that was pink and smelled vaguely of strawberries. "Thank you," she whispered before looking at him with apprehension, "what is it?"

Eric smiled as he sat down on the other side of Cheyenne and pointed to each item. "That's shower gel, or soap, that's lotion, that's body mist kinda like perfume, that's lip gloss and it comes with a loofah thing to scrub with in the shower." He said easily enough before smiling up at her, "We weren't sure what kind of scents you like but we figured you can't go wrong with strawberry."

Cheyenne smiled gratefully to the men and handed it carefully to Eric before warily opening the bag from Victoria's Secret. She reached in and gasped, pulling her hand back and glancing up at Wes before slowly pulling out a small stack of garments. The first was pink and purple thick microfiber pajamas to which Momma Jo smiled and patted the girls shoulder when she gave a happy sigh. The second was a long black satin nightgown that was surprisingly decent given the shop it was bought at. It had short sleeves and it did dip a bit in the front but for all intents was modest and comfortable. The last was a pair of grey sweat pants and sweatshirt with pink piping.

Wes smiled and patted the sweats with a grin, "This is so when you get back up and running you can work out with Eric and I, we jog every morning and we go to the gym to swim, plus they're really comfy to just wear around."

Cheyenne stroked the night clothes and thanked him again, tears welling in her eyes at her appreciation for the gifts.

Eric smiled up at her and handed her the Macy's bag, gently brushing away one of the tears that fell. "Don't cry sweetheart, its alright," he soothed as she slowly peeked inside the bag, almost afraid of what else they had gotten her.

She reached inside as she only saw tissue paper and pulled it out to expose a dark purple turtle neck shirt, a pair of blue jeans, a leather jacket and a white dress with blue polka dots and sunflowers. Cheyenne gave a breathy squeal when she saw the dress and stroked the material, quickly fanning it out to find it had a heart neckline, halter fastenings and a thick waistband that tied in a bow in the back. "Oh thank you so much its all so pretty!" she cried causing Wes to laugh delightedly.

"Well, I'm glad you like them, the jacket came from Eric though, and when we manage to get you out of here we're taking you shopping for a whole lot more!" He promised playfully, his face tightening as her eyes widened in surprise.

"But why would you take me for more? This is so much already," she said quietly as she turned to look at Eric in surprise, "you don't need to waste your money on a freak like me," she told them softly, causing Momma Jo to grumble under her breath.

Eric sighed and leaned forward to capture her attention, "Cheyenne, you know your cousin was an evil disgusting bastard for what he did to you right?" He asked softly as she stared at him with large uncertain blue eyes and nodded. He smiled tightly to her, letting Wes pick up from there.

"Cheyenne, sweetheart, I know we can't erase what that horrible man did to you, but we want to take care of you now, and taking care of you means making sure you have what you need to function as a human being. We like buying things for you, if we were upset about it at all or even the slightest bit concerned about taking care of you we wouldn't but we are sure, and we're here for you as long as you need us, ok?"

She watched them for a moment before nodding, grateful tears falling from her eyes.

Wes smiled up at her and handed Momma Jo another bag, "We got what we thought would fit for undergarments and we got her some toiletries, if anything is too big or too small we'll fix it."

Eric nodded before patting Cheyenne's hand and standing, "Sweetheart we have to get back to the precinct to file paper work and we're going to get dinner, would you like us to bring dinner back here and eat with you?" he asked her softly.

Cheyenne looked up at Momma Jo for a moment before turning back and smiling at him, "Yes please, I want to get to know you and Mister Wes."

Wes groaned at the nickname, causing Eric to snicker, "Alright dear, we'll bring back food, what do you want to eat?" he asked sweetly as he held his hands out for the extra outfits.

Cheyenne looked down at the clothes and with Momma Jo's help, quickly chose the black nightgown to wear after her bath. "Um, Daddy… I mean Michael… he used to eat Chinese food and it smelled really good, can we try that?"

Eric nodded with a smile and waved as he and Wes moved towards the door, "Chinese food coming right up, we'll be back soon."

Cheyenne waved back with a small giggle before holding the bag Momma Jo offered her, "So can I use my new soap?" she asked shyly as she sniffed the package again and was wheeled down the hall towards the injury prep area was located.

Momma Jo laughed as she pulled her backwards into the room, "Of course you can, and if you want, we can cut your hair all pretty, and maybe even paint your finger nails, how would you like that sweetie?" She asked brightly as she drew a really warm bath for the teenager.

Cheyenne smiled tentatively up at her and nodded, "I'd like that, Momma Jo, thank you!"

A/N: Ok that was seriously fun at the end. I figured they went in and got the smallest size they could find of everything and just prayed it fit her! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and as always I'd love to hear your comments questions and suggestions! Thanks for being patient with my updating too guys, it means a lot!


	7. Sorrowful Goodbyes

Ok guys, please don't kill me! I tried so freaking hard to do the cute cuddly first real bath with using pretty things, and Chinese food and getting to know you conversation and I JUST COULDN'T DO IT… I might be willing to go back and do it later and edit it in or something but for now, I'm bringing you a short chapter focusing entirely on our Ninjas in hopes you won't just lynch me for taking so freaking long to update the story.

Please review, I'd love to hear what you have to say, to get any suggestions or comments about the missing scene and any volunteers to write one or more of the characters in an rpg-ish sort of way to help me bust through my huge ass mental block!

Thank you all so, so, so much for sticking with me!

Chapter 6.1 Sorrowful Goodbyes

Two weeks later found Hunter meditating in ops, his cheek throbbing with a cut and his leg burning with the bruises after a sparring practice with Shane had gone sour. He had, had another nightmare the night before and was nearly in a fit of rage when Shane came into ops and saw him reading, the fact of which prompted teasing. It was done playfully but Hunter had readily given in to the inviting loss of control and their fight quickly escalated from teasing words to fisticuffs in a matter of moments. He was glad that Shane could take care of himself and in his own anger, made a wrong move, landing himself on the floor.

He took another deep breath, his body slowly working out the tension from the previous night and the humiliation of having to apologize to the hot headed air ninja. He knew the fight was inappropriate but he had needed it so badly. 'Breathe' he chastised himself, trying to relax his racing mind enough to give in to the soothing ebb of his subconscious.

He felt someone approach and tensed up searching out the presence and quickly identifying the solid quiet wall and ginger scent as Cam. He sighed, relaxing again and even further as the older boy sat across from him silently and drifted into his own meditational state.

Cam was a beautiful swordsman, a loyal friend and the one ranger besides his brother he felt completely safe to let himself go with. He trusted Cam as much as Blake, wondering at times if he didn't actually trust the beautiful man more as he didn't feel the need to protect him as fiercely as he did Blake.

He waited a few long moments, his mind desperately scrambling for peace and tranquility before disgustedly giving up his pursuit and opening crystal blue eyes to study his counterpart.

Cam sat before him in an outfit Hunter secretly loved. Black trousers that fit him snugly but flattered his slight build and a soft cotton shirt in black that hugged the wiry muscles of his arms and chest. He wore the typical green button-up over it, open to show the black and his amulet hung proudly around his neck. His hair was getting longer, the bangs of it brushing his eyelashes and tangling delicately in them, giving Cam a wispy look. His features were delicate and rather effeminate, red lips, just a tad too lush and suitable for a woman throwing him in the land of pretty and beautiful rather than handsome.

Cam opened warm brown eyes, their depths sparkling with hidden excitement and caution, "Hunter… I have some news," he offered calmly as his hands fiddled with an envelope in his hands. "I don't really know if it is good news or not, I suppose that is up to you, but I found some information for you I thought you would like to see." He offered as he offered the envelope to Hunter with an expectant look.

Hunter took the envelope, his entire body strung out on adrenaline as his hands shook while opening it. He read the contents, his eyes closing in pain as a sob welled up in his throat. He stared at Cam in shock, lips trembling as tears gathered in his eyes and lashes. "Nowhere? I mean is there a way that it's just in a really small plot or something?" He asked, his lifeless fingers dropping the results for the burial search for Cheyenne.

Cam shook his head sadly, "No, I'm really sorry Hunter but I searched every database in the US to try and find her grave, she doesn't have one she was probably cremated." He said softly as he hesitantly reached forward and clasped Hunter's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Hunter, I know how much you wanted to find something," he whispered gently as he scooted closer and hugged the younger man when his tears began to fall.

Hunter's breath shuddered as he spoke against Cam's warm shoulder, "I just wanted to see her, visit her… even if it was only her grave…" he whispered, admitting his desires aloud to the other man as he was slowly rocked in Cam's embrace.

Cam nodded his understanding before pulling back, "Hunter, why don't we get out of here for a bit, I want to take you somewhere," he begged softly, happy to receive an instant assent.

He drew the other man to his feet, holding his hand firmly as they exited ops and made their way past the entrance from the waterfall into the surrounding forest. They were about to streak away when Tori greeted them kindly, drawing their attention to the rest of their team approaching from the well marked path. "Cam, Hunter! Hey guys, what are you up to?" She called out sweetly, noticing their joined hands but not commenting on it or Hunter's blotchy face.

Cam smiled at Tori, one of his first great friends and shook his head gently, "We're going off for a bit, there was some unsettling news for Hunter and I wanted to take him somewhere peaceful to get his mind off things," he explained gently.

Blake frowned, coming up to check on his brother, offering a hug that was more emotional than the winds were used to seeing from the brothers. "Hey bro is everything alright, what's going on?" He asked softly as he dried off a new tear from Hunter's cheek.

Hunter sighed and looked to Cam beseechingly for help to explain. "Cam… he was looking for some information on Cheyenne for me." He finally admitted to Blake before continuing softly, "He…" Hunter stopped and swallowed thickly before turning his face away as the winds drew closer to hear and offer their support.

Cam took pity on Hunter and continued the explanation as they all sat on the rocks surrounding the pool at the entrance to the academy portal. "Do you want me to explain all of it guys?" He asked Hunter and Blake carefully, smiling gently when Blake nodded and pulled Hunter to bury his face in his shoulder.

Cam faced the winds and gave them a weary smile. "Hunter and Blake had a sister at one time, who was separated from them when they were kids and their adoptive parents died." He said quietly, waiting for their exclamations to pass before continuing, "They received word about two…" here he glanced at Blake to get his acknowledgement and continued, "Two years later that Cheyenne had died due to complications with an illness." He said softly, running a comforting hand over Hunter's back as he shuddered.

"For a long time, Hunter has been trying to find peace within himself and acceptance of Cheyenne's death; he was hoping to find closure with the situation and asked me to look for her burial site so he could visit with her." He paused briefly his eyes apologetic to Blake as he knew he would learn of the information at the same time that the Winds did. "I pulled off the search, looked everywhere, checked every loophole and database and there just isn't a burial plot anywhere. The most likely scenario being that she was cremated and her ashes were kept with her new guardian." He finally spoke, causing another harsh sob to escape from Hunter.

Tori's eyes were bright with tears as she moved forward to wrap Hunter and Blake in an affectionate hug. "Oh guys, I'm so sorry, why didn't you tell us before?" She asked softly as she held them both and was quickly joined by Shane, Dustin and Cam. They sat huddled together for several long moments before cam cleared his throat again. "I was going to take him to a spot higher up in the mountains to try and help him out for a bit, you guys should come." He offered quietly, gaining their eager consent before standing. "Come on, I want you to follow me ok?" He whispered to Hunter, meeting his bleary red eyes and giving him a soft understanding look.

They streaked up to the top of the mountain, the sun shining brilliantly in the distance as they looked around the view from the flat high cliff on the peak of the mountain. Shane sighed happily as he lifted his arms in greeting of the air surrounding them as Dustin quickly sat on the ground and buried his hands in the dirt. Blake stood near to Hunter and Cam, listening quietly to the whispers that the samurai ranger spoke to his brother while holding on to Tori tightly, his own tears slowly brimming forth as he processed the news.

Cam, for his part, was holding Hunter in a tight embrace, unconcerned for the moment on how intimate they looked and not caring what the others thought as he tried his hardest to comfort the crimson lightning ranger. "Hunter, you once told me you wished you could just scream, let out all of your emotions about the unfairness of your childhood go. I want you to do that, no one can here you from up here, you're surrounded by people who love you and I promise I'll be here the entire time, I'll even scream with you if you want." He offered as he hugged the other man, slowly stroking his back as Hunter shuddered against him.

Hunter pulled back to give Cam a saddened smile, the corners of his mouth slowly turning up as he tried to give the other man a sign that he was ok. "Thank you, Cam. You don't know how much your being here helps." He whispered gently before turning to the horizon and letting his expression harden.

He felt Tori and Blake draw close, Shane and Dustin silent guards at his back as he inhaled sharply, filling his lungs with the crisp mountain air surrounding them. He glared at the setting sun, a fitting reminder as he squeezed Cam's hand tightly and taking another breath, screamed loud and hard, finally releasing all of his fury upon the earth.

The others watched in amazement as clouds began to appear and the air charged with the heady feeling of electricity. Bolts of lightning began to erupt around them as Hunter finally let go of every damper and hold on his emotions and raged against the sky with all of his anger and hurt and sorrow.

He heard Blake join him, wildly throwing his hand out to grasp his brother's as Cam and then Tori began to lift their voices in the howling madness. Answering energies circled each other and combined, wrecking havoc as Shane and finally Dustin lent their own voices and powers to the mix, the lightning and rain mixed with brutal gusts of wind, thunder and the upheaval of the earth. Raw brutal power erupted around them, focusing the other elements in aerial streaks of green tinted energy as they spent themselves and their energies, lending them to the Bradleys in their time of need.

Hunter finally quieted, the others joining him at random until finally it was silent. The elements faded away and suddenly Hunter felt lighter and freer then he had in his entire life. He sobbed with bittersweet happiness as he hugged Blake and Cam to him, the last of his energy spent as he buried his face in Cam's neck and slowly pressed a kiss to the warm skin, a silent thanks that was met with a calming pulse of acceptance and love from the other man.

He waited several long moments before finally pulling away and settling himself as he gazed around the mountain. He turned grateful eyes to the rest of the team, smiling to them each in turn as they met his gaze with steady understanding. He would always miss Cheyenne, and would never forget her but at last; he finally felt that he might be able to find a little bit of peace for himself and the strength to move on.

They sat in companionable silence for several long moments before Shane sighed and stood, "Come on guys, let's go get something to eat." He beckoned softly to the others, stretching as Tori, Dustin and Blake stood to join him. Shane smiled as Cam shook his head gently, "You go ahead, I'm going to stay with him for a while." He offered softly to the others in excuse for them both before turning to watch the sunset with the elder thunder ninja.

They sat together quietly as the watched the blazing sun disappear and bring the day to a close. There was a tension there between them that hadn't existed for many months. It was different than the ill disguised mistrust Cam had held for the thunders when they first joined the team after the debacle with Lothor. Instead it was a heavy tension, one filled with possibilities if only one would voice their acknowledgement of it.

Hunter yearned to feel Cam's hand upon his own, his arms wrapped around his body in that embrace that promised comfort and love. He had been slowly falling for the older man for quite some time, though he was much too afraid to admit anything of the sort. It would be all too easy for Cam to destroy him if he gave him that power over his heart and soul, yet still he yearned for it.

Cam sighed, disrupting the younger man's indecisive broodings as he leaned over and pressed wary lips to Hunters in a short sweet kiss. "I'm not promising anything, and I don't want to rush into anything as long as Lothor is a threat, but if we survive this, and if we still have this burning inside, we'll talk." He whispered gently to the taller man before standing and offering his hand, accepting Hunter's relieved expression and shy smile as his answer before he stretched. "Come on, I want more Pad Thai," he offered abruptly before turning and streaking off towards ops.

Hunter smiled after the green streak and looked around the now dark and empty cliff. "Goodbye, Cheyenne," he whispered softly, his hand stroking a rock softly before he followed his team home.

A/N: OK so… I want to know what you think!!! I realize I kinda went a bit fast with the touchy stuff between Cam and Hunter so I put in what I thought would be Cam's logical response to their mutual attraction. As the coming months unravel I'm sure you'll be amused with Hunter's attempts to persuade Cam to other ideas. I know this is much shorter than usual, it wasn't meant to be a full chapter. I'm going to have to figure out how to continue the Wes/Eric/Cheyenne side of things. If anyone has suggestions, or would like to help me get over my writers block with them, please feel free to pm me or review with ideas. I won't abandon this story, not something I want to do, but I am having a bit of trouble with keeping everything flowing with that side of things so until I can get out of this writer's block bubble I should hopefully come bursting out with more updates.

Hope you all enjoyed it!

Hugs and Kisses

Makia


	8. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

Hi Guys!

So I just wanted to let you know that I'm taking Hope For Love down temporarily to repost it later because I'm rewriting it! It will be updated in its entirety in December and January as I have the ability to edit and smooth out the story line... hope you'll come see the finished product! thanks!

This is going to involve a LOT of changes, mostly because I'll be turning it into an AU version… still our favorite characters but without the geeky spandex… Yes I know we all love the rangers but I'm actually going to try and change it so they're more in the national guard/coast guard. It just lends a bit easier to how I want the story to go!

Hopefully this doesn't mean I'll be losing the fans and friends who have been waiting for the updates, I know its been sporadic at best and hopeless more often but I'm trying this out for nanowrimo this year and although its supposed to be a new work I'm hoping that completely changing quite a bit will suffice… not to mention I'm going to be writing what I have plus an additional 50,000 to make it all up!

Anyways hopefully I'll see you all soon for the new version!

Makia Durron

And I'll be taking this message down in a while… I know no author notes but I had to get the word out somehow!


	9. ATTENTION ATTENTION!

Hey guys, sorry for a second author's note… I'm trying to find a beta… if anyone is interested but now that Nanowrimo is over, I'm in the editing process… I will be reposting this story, and eventually deleting this posting of it, as I've completely reworked the story.

I hope that everyone who has this story on alerts, favorites and has reviewed will come see the new and improved version, the first chapter should be posted on Saturday.

Thanks everyone for your patience and support!


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